


Trials

by secooper87



Series: The Child of Balime [16]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Crossover, F/F, Humor, Romance, Tragedy/Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-13
Updated: 2013-09-25
Packaged: 2017-12-26 10:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/965003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secooper87/pseuds/secooper87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor gives Seo a test — she has three chances to prove to him that she can responsibly travel through time.  But then… Seo's never really been very good at tests…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Intro is a little slow on this one, I'll admit. Please keep reading to the next chapter! Promise, you won't regret it!

_Introduction_

* * *

"Do you really think Seo should be floating around while you're fixing the TARDIS?" Jack asked, leaning down and handing the Doctor a spanner.

"Best keep an eye on her," the Doctor replied, grabbing up the spanner and making a few adjustments. He squinted, then buzzed the bit he was fiddling with with his sonic screwdriver. "Sides. 99 years old. Not like she'll be able to make anything of it."

Jack raised his eyebrows.

That wasn't even worth dignifying with an answer.

* * *

Martha and the Doctor might have been floored. But Jack wasn't actually that surprised when, a few weeks later, just as the Doctor was almost done with his TARDIS repairs, Seo unveiled her own space-time ship she'd constructed, in imitation.

Jack would have been disappointed in her if she _hadn't_.

Seo's ship was a hexagonal pillar made of black-tinted one-way glass, sparkling obsidian beneath the sunlight. Smallish, but looking large enough to fit maybe two people in a tight space.

Martha frowned, knocked on the outside. "Is that real glass?"

"Yep!" Seo beamed, bouncing on her toes, eyes twinkling. "I want to look out the window when I travel through time. So I can see if everything turns blue when I go forward, and red when I go back!"

The Doctor looked a little too taken aback to speak.

"What kind of shielding you got on that?" Jack asked.

Seo quirked an eyebrow at him. "I need shielding?"

Oh, boy.

Seo raced forward, and flung open the door. "But look inside!" she called, running in. "It's brilliant!"

It was bigger inside than outside.

Not excessively, but in moderation. Enough to think it was an optical illusion.

Except if you looked up.

The whole thing went on and on, upwards and upwards, spiral staircases ascending into an eternity of levels and rooms.

It looked like a tree-house. The staircases and floors all made of bamboo and strung together with leaves and branches. The central console looked like it had been carved out of an old tree stump.

The central console was, in actual fact, metal. And completely mechanical, no organic elements whatsoever. Unlike the TARDIS, which had an ambience of being alive, this machine clearly wasn't.

The Doctor went over to the central console. An unreadable expression on his face.

"I thought TARDIS's had to be grown," Martha commented, coming into the ship.

"This isn't a TARDIS," muttered the Doctor. "More like… a time-space hopper." He opened up the paneling, and examined the wiring inside. Stared. "This is all based on Jack's Vortex Manipulator."

Seo seemed supremely proud of herself.

Jack stepped over, studying the console. Couldn't help but be a little proud of her, in his own way. Brave, brilliant Seo, making all this despite the fact that she had no idea…

Jack spun around. "Where's the coordinate panel?"

"I don't need one!" said Seo. "I don't want to know where I'm going!"

Oh, boy, again.

"How are you expecting to get home?" asked Jack. "Or make sure you don't materialize into the middle of a building? Or inside a supernova? Or into a black hole?"

Seo's cheer fell, a little. She grimaced. "Um… oops?"

"Does it translate alien languages?" Martha asked. "Like the TARDIS does?"

The look on Seo's face showed that it very clearly didn't.

The Doctor clanged the central console shut. "Well!" he said, turning to Seo. "Impressive. Good try. Maybe someday, you'll make one that'll work."

"But it does work!" said Seo, racing up to the central console and poking a button. "See? I just need to power it up, and then…"

The machine made a whirring sound. Then gave a groan. And a clunk.

And the power cut out, completely.

Seo stared at it. Utterly and completely shocked. "But… but it didn't do that before! It shouldn't have…!"

The Doctor put his hands into his pockets, and strolled out of the ship. That blank expression still on his face. His eyes filled with determination and just a hint of regret.

Martha exchanged a look with Jack.

They both knew the ship had probably worked fine before the Doctor had entered.

And, now?

It would never work again.

* * *

Seo sat on a step, facing her time machine. A lost look in her eyes. Utter devastation in her face.

Martha sat down, beside her.

"I liked it," she offered.

Seo said nothing.

"It's not fixable, is it?" Martha asked.

Seo shook her head. Her eyes still fixed down on the pavement.

"Well… time travel isn't everything, you know," said Martha. "There are plenty of places on Earth you can travel. You can go to Egypt, or South America, or even—"

" _You_ can," Seo mumbled.

Martha turned to Seo, a little surprised. "Money?" she guessed.

"I don't show up on film," said Seo. "Or metal detectors. Or anything. Customs officials notice things like that."

Oh.

Oh, no.

And the more Seo kept babbling, on and on, about all the things she couldn't do and all the places she couldn't go and all the ways she felt trapped here, Martha knew.

It was up to Martha to do what needed to be done.

* * *

"You broke her ship," Martha accused, entering the TARDIS. "On purpose."

The Doctor didn't answer. Putting the finishing touches on his own ship, sonic in hand, knelt down by the base of the central console.

"I know it wasn't perfect," said Martha. "But you didn't have to make sure it'd never work again. You could have made it—"

"No," said the Doctor. Still not looking at her. He tweaked some of the wires, redoing the coupling cables.

Martha crossed her arms. "Why not?"

"Because someone as inexperienced as Seo shouldn't ever be traveling through time," the Doctor said. "No qualifications. No credentials. No training. No nothing. Can't just let her hotwire a time machine and go zipping off through the vortex without a by-your-leave."

Martha raised her eyebrows at the Doctor. Then flicked her eyes over to the gold-plated panel at the base of the central console, declaring the TARDIS as a museum piece, to be returned, in case of theft, to some prestigious-sounding place on Gallifrey.

"And you've never done that, yourself?" Martha asked.

The Doctor hesitated. Pausing in his work on the TARDIS.

"That was different," the Doctor said, quickly. Then got back to work.

"How?" Martha demanded.

The Doctor stuck his head inside the console. "Time Lord training," he said. "I know what can happen if you muck about with timelines in the wrong way. Had centuries of schooling, back home, before I… acquired the TARDIS. Completely different."

A flood of memories swarmed through Martha's head. Of people starving to death, packed into labor camps, devoid of hope and barely able to survive. Of a destroyed Earth, ruled over by a homicidal maniac who called himself a Time Lord.

"If the Master's anything to go by," said Martha, "I don't think much of your 'Time Lord training.'"

The Doctor didn't answer.

"And anyways, she knows more about mucked up timelines than anyone!" Martha continued, walking towards the Doctor. "She grew up seeing every way that a timeline could go wrong. Her dad taught her all about time travel-type things. She's ready for this."

And if the Master had once been able to fly around in a TARDIS, Martha saw no reason why Seo shouldn't be able to.

"Might know it all in theory," the Doctor countered. "Theory and practice are two entirely different things."

"So give her the practice," Martha said. "Let her go out there and try it out for herself!"

"No," the Doctor snapped, turning on his heel to face Martha. "I'm sorry, Martha, but it's never going to happen. That's final."

For a few moments, they said nothing. Both just staring at one another. Neither wanting to back down.

The TARDIS hummed in the background.

"She has family, you know," Martha said, very quietly. "In America."

The Doctor didn't answer. Looked away.

"She doesn't show up on machines," said Martha. "She can't fly on an airplane. Her mum's terrified that some government agency's going to snatch her up and take her away for experiments."

Still, no answer from the Doctor.

"She can't teleport," said Martha. "A space ship would be too flashy. All the alien transit devices I've seen, traveling with you, wouldn't pick her up. She's stranded here. Away from her family." Martha shuddered. Overcome with horrible memories. "I know what that's like."

A look of utter pain and guilt swept across the Doctor's face. But he tried to hide it.

Martha walked up to him. Put a hand on his arm.

"She shouldn't have to be alone," she said.

Then turned, and left the TARDIS.

She'd said her part.

* * *

The Doctor thought it over. Long and hard. Standing in the reconstructed console room of his TARDIS, the words Martha had said running through his mind.

_She shouldn't have to be alone._

Then he closed his eyes. Sighed.

And went back to Seo's ship.

* * *

Buffy found the Doctor inside Seo's time-space ship prototype thingy. Sonic in hand. Buzzing around the central console thingamy with a frantic intensity.

"Whatever you're doing, it's not going to work," Buffy told him. "Seo says this thing's a write-off. The central whatever-it-is got super screwed up, and it'll never go anywhere."

"That," said the Doctor, shoving the top back on the console, "is because you didn't have…" He banged down a fist against the console, and all the lights turned back on. "...me."

Buffy stared around her. The whole place seemed to be humming with a kind of mechanized life. And something… just beneath that… something a little different.

"What did you…?" Buffy started.

"Something that links this ship to the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. "Just to keep an eye on her. Track her. Make sure she doesn't get up to any mischief." He thought a moment. "Well. Not anymore than I would, any rate."

"You put part of the TARDIS in there, huh?" asked Buffy, gesturing at the central console.

The Doctor didn't answer. Turned back to the console of Seo's ship. Gestured at it. "Added coordinate panel, various safety protocols she completely forgot about, a telepathic circuit to assist with language translation, and… well, enough shielding that this ship's practically indestructible. Bit of an oversight on her part, that one. Suppose we're not all perfect."

Buffy still couldn't quite believe the Doctor was actually doing this.

She'd figured the Doctor would never let Seo touch time travel with a ten foot pole.

"You're serious about this?" Buffy asked. "Seo? The person who's almost ended the world by accident super often? You're trusting her with the whole fabric-of-time-and-space thing?"

The Doctor paused, for a few long moments. A serious expression crawling across his face.

"She never compromised her morals," the Doctor muttered, running a hand through his hair. "No matter what." He glanced back at Buffy. "She's earned my trust."

Buffy frowned. Trying to figure out what the Doctor could be talking about.

The Doctor grimaced, spinning around to face Buffy. "Only problem is… her time-travel instincts. Some of them are numbed. She can see fixed points in time, but her instincts won't stop her mucking about with them."

"Jack," Buffy sighed.

She knew all about that one. Buffy had to stifle serious nausea, sometimes, when Jack jerked back to life. Seo never felt any of it.

"Certain events in history shouldn't be changed," the Doctor said. "She'll be able to see them, if she looks. Know what they are. But she won't get an instinctive feeling to keep away from them." He gave Buffy a pointed stare. "Up to you to teach her."

Buffy blinked. "Wait, _me_?"

"Best person for it," the Doctor said.

Buffy shook her head. "But… I'm not all with the time travel!" she insisted. "I don't know the first thing about fixed points in time or—"

"You know," the Doctor cut in, softly, "that sometimes, to do the right thing, you have to do something horribly, horribly wrong. And you know… that even with the most terrible monsters, sometimes the best thing you can do… is forgive." His eyes shone in the lights of the ship. "Teach her that."

Buffy wasn't sure what to say.

"I trust you, Elizabeth," said the Doctor. "Always. Even with this."

Buffy grinned, a little. Oh, God, she'd missed this kind of thing from him. Wanted to grab him up and kiss him until she passed out from lack of oxygen whenever he did it.

Only just barely stopped herself from doing so, now.

"Course, I'll be putting Seo through some tests and trials, first," the Doctor continued, walking past Buffy, and out of the ship. "Let's say… three! Three trials, just to make sure she's up to the job. Get her through those, and she'll be right as rain!"

Oh.

And if she didn't… Buffy was guessing this time machine was never going to work, again.

"Yeah," said Buffy, to the Doctor's retreating form, as he departed Seo's ship. "So no pressure on me, or anything."


	2. Trial One — London, 1860

The woman trembled, as she knelt down in the church. Her eyes closed, her jaw shaking. Her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"Please, God," she prayed. With every ounce of strength she had left in her. "I can't take it any longer. I can't…" She heard a sound, overhead, and squeezed her eyes shut, even tighter. Not willing to look, for fear of what she might find. "Please. I just need some hope. Just give me a sign!"

Another crash from overhead, and then a loud shriek, descending lower and lower. The woman's eyes popped open, her head turning just in time to see a young girl splash into the baptismal font. A young girl with blond hair, brown eyes, and freckles, a row of bangs hiding her forehead.

The woman stared, stumbling to her feet. Her mouth forming words, but no sound issuing from her lips.

"Oh," said the girl. Hopping out of the baptismal font. "Sorry 'bout that. Not the most dignified of entrances." She raced forwards, offering a hand. "Hello! I'm Seo!"

The woman didn't take the hand. Shuddered away from the drenched girl. "Please," the woman begged, "don't kill me."

Seo stopped, her face falling into a frown. "Wasn't planning on it."

The woman kept backing away from Seo, desperately.

Seo held up her hands. "No, honestly," she said. "See, Mom and I are just here on holiday. Or, actually, we started off in Cardiff, but then these Renter-Carmichael… sorry, Rentacachamel aliens flew through the rift, and we tracked them here in my ship. Mom's hunting down the other, but this one seems to have gotten stuck…" Seo glanced up at the roof of the church, "…right up there."

A piercing shriek from the rafters, and the woman threw up her hands over her ears, wincing. "Lord, protect me!" the woman begged, as the gigantic winged beast swooped down, talons raised. "Please, oh Divine One, glorious and almighty—"

She was knocked aside by Seo, before the beast could strike.

"Really," Seo said, "it's just Seo."

The woman stared at her. Taken aback, almost too startled to speak. "You… you… you saved my life."

Seo beamed. Then jumped up, and offered the woman a hand back to her feet. The woman took it, as Seo's eyes drifted back to the ceiling, where the creature had retreated.

"Better get it down from there," Seo muttered. She began to race off. "Come on!"

The woman, a little startled, found herself obeying without quite knowing what she was doing. Racing after this girl who'd dropped from the sky, just as she'd asked God for help. Who'd been dropped as if from Heaven, just when she'd asked for a sign.

They raced up the stairs, to the very top of the church. Seo putting a finger to her lips, as they snuck forwards, examining the creature.

A long, sleek, red-feathered monster, with scaled wings and deep green eyes. Surveying the church from its perch up above, occasionally pausing only to bellow high-pitched shrieking noises.

"Is that… the Devil?" the woman whispered.

Seo glanced over at her. Vaguely amused. "Nah. I fought the Devil a while ago. Trust me, he looks nothing like that."

The woman froze. "You… you've actually fought…?"

"Well, you grow up in a higher dimensional plane of the universe," Seo said, climbing up one of the pillars, "and you meet all sorts. Gods. Devils. Mad sentient dimensions trying to possess you."

She swung herself around, and began to scale the flying buttress, towards the rooftop.

The woman leaned over the railing, her eyes wide. "What are you doing? You could fall, and—"

"Yep, done that one, already!" Seo replied. Her eyes fixed on the creature. "But someone still has to get it down. And unless you're planning to climb up the rafters, that means it's up to me." She squinted, then pounced into the air, spinning as she reached for one of the rafters.

She caught it — just barely. With one hand.

The woman held her breath. Her hands clinging tightly to the railing.

Seo gritted her teeth. With a surge of strength, she grabbed for the rafter with the other hand, then hoisted herself up, flipping over the beam and landing on its surface. She shot the woman a grin. Then crept towards the creature.

The creature that looked as if it came from Hell, itself. Why would such a creature be drawn to a church?

"Shhh…" said Seo. "It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you."

The creature studied Seo, carefully. Then turned its head, green eyes seeking out the woman. It squawked.

Why _would_ such a creature be drawn to a church?

"You don't belong in this place," said Seo. "Or this time. I can take you home. I can…"

The creature surged at Seo and she tumbled backwards, sliding along the rafters and then rolling, grabbing and clutching for purchase but finding none. Her eyes went wide, as she found herself falling…

And only just managing to grab onto one of the rafter support-struts, on her way down. Fingers slipping, more and more, every single second.

No baptismal font beneath her, this time, to break her fall.

The creature screeched, leaping backwards, and striking the organ pipes with its wings. A burst of sound echoed through them, and the creature stopped, examining the organ pipes, surprised. And intrigued.

Which was when it struck the woman. Why the creature would find sanctuary in a church.

"Noise," the woman breathed. "The heavenly choir."

Seo tried to grab the support strut with another hand, but nearly lost her grip with her first hand.

The woman leaned forwards, summoning up her last ounce of courage, and in her loudest voice, began to sing Ave Maria.

The creature turned its head back to the woman. Flew forwards, giving a soft cooing sound, as it responded to her voice. Responded to the song.

A cooing sound… that sounded almost like the melody.

It was trying to sing along. Like a baby, attempting to sing with its mother, but not sure of the tune or the words.

The woman reached out a hand, stroking the monster's head. It purred beneath her touch, leaning into her, as if recognizing a friend. Not a monster, then. Just a creature, lost and afraid, struggling to find hope in a world cruel and horrifying.

Then the woman reeled, backwards. Hands clutching her head. "No," she breathed. "No!" Her eyes on Seo, her mouth dropping open. "Hold on," she begged. "Please, hold on!"

The creature turned its head, regarding Seo. Looking between Seo, and the woman it had come to see as its friend.

As Seo's last few fingers slipped… and she tumbled through the air…

"No!" the woman screamed.

And as she did, the creature she had soothed surged into life, swooping through the air, and grabbed up the tumbling girl in its talons. Snatching her from her fall, then tossing her up and catching her on its back, as it landed on the ground of the church, with the slight flutter of wings.

The woman raced down the stairs, fast as she could. Breathed a breath of relief, as she saw Seo unharmed — although a little dazed.

"You!" said Seo. Her eyes gleaming, as she saw the woman. "You saved my life! Thank you!"

The woman stopped. Her eyes still on the creature. "That… beast," she ventured, a little uneasily. "It's… not evil."

"Course not," Seo agreed. "Just afraid. Sees the world a little different from all the rest of us. Was separated from its family, and wound up hunted. By Torchwood." Seo's eyes dropped to the ground, a frown on her face. "Sooner Jack takes over in Cardiff, the better."

The woman felt herself shaking. Violently shaking. Alone, and afraid. Separated from family. Hunted down.

The creature looked up at her. Recognition in its eyes. And gave a soft purr.

Two beings. So very different. And yet… so similar.

Seo looked between the two. Her brow furrowing. Then her eyes went wide, and her mouth formed an 'O'. She strode forwards, her eyes fixed on the woman's.

"Who's hunting _you_?" she asked.

"A… man," the woman stuttered. Smoothing down her skirts. "An evil man." She heard her voice tremble at just the thought of him. "He's torn apart my life. Killed my family. Took away any hope I ever had."

Something very dark passed across Seo's face. An unfathomably dark expression, as if she were barely able to hold back a sudden rage of anger and pain.

"I know what that's like," Seo whispered.

Then Seo planted a determined expression on her face. Walked over to the woman, looking right into her eyes.

"And I'm not letting it happen again," Seo decided. "No matter what I have to do, no matter what the danger, no matter what the consequences, I won't let it happen." Her eyes blazed. "I swear. I will save you."

She extended her hand, to shake.

The woman hesitated. "You… would attempt… to…?"

"Not attempt," said Seo. "I'm going to do it. I promise, to my dying breath, I will save you…" She stopped. Gave a small laugh. "You know, I still don't know your name."

"I'm… Drusilla," the woman said. Shaking Seo's hand. "Drusilla Keeble."

Seo grinned. "Drusilla," she mused. "That's a neat name! Never heard of anyone named Drusilla, before."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know, Twilight was Buffy and Angel's kid.

"I wanted to take vows, join a nunnery, but… this curse, this foresight… it's made me stray from God's divinity," Drusilla confessed to Seo, as they left the church. Her eyes fixed on the cobblestones beneath her feet. Her hands trembling, her voice frantically trying to swallow tears. " _He_ never lets me forget that. That God has forsaken me. Whether or not I take holy orders… I'll always be evil, inside."

"You're evil," Seo clarified, "because… you… see the future?"

"Seeing things before they happen is an affront to the Lord," Drusilla told her. "I know that. And I try to suppress it. Really, I do. But I can't help myself. It's like… an evil urge. I see these visions, as if—"

"What dimension of time do you see?" Seo asked, curiously.

Drusilla stared at her. Not sure how to answer this. "Dimension of…?"

"Sure! There are lots of different ways you can see the future, you know." Seo tilted her head to the side, making rapid and nonsensical hand gestures, as if to illustrate her point. "You can have a future that sort of wibbles about, like this… or you can have it wobble, a bit more like this… or maybe a bit of a spinny sort of swirly-gig sort of motion… or a bobbing type of—"

"You see the future?" Drusilla asked.

Seo shook her head. "Nah. I just see the wibbling."

Drusilla gave Seo a completely blank stare.

"I'm just trying to determine if your visions are of an array of future probabilities," Seo explained, "or if you've somehow developed a way to see fixed points in time, and are reacting to that. Or if you're searching through history for all the critical flux points, and picking up on the temporal potential of that."

Once again, a blank look from Drusilla.

Seo sighed, kicking a pebble down the pavement. "Humans," she muttered. "Know nothing about time." She thought a long moment. Then her eyes lit up. She spun on Drusilla. "You saw me fall!"

The terror in Drusilla's eyes was confirmation enough of this.

"Did you just see me fall?" Seo asked. "Or did you actually see me die?"

"I… I…" Drusilla swallowed hard. "You died." She hesitated. "And then… came back to life, in a burst of light. I didn't understand that part."

Seo practically leapt with glee. Grabbing up Drusilla, her eyes dancing. "But that's brilliant!" she cried. "Don't you see? Your visions… what you're seeing… it doesn't always have to happen! Potential flux-points in space-time."

Drusilla shook her head. "I don't—"

"It's a gift!" Seo said. "Don't you see? All that future, ahead of you, and you can change it. Make it better. Lives you've seen lost, people who'll be wronged, all the injustice and the suffering — you can use your foreknowledge to prevent it from happening."

Drusilla wavered.

"I don't want to be evil," Drusilla told her.

"But you'd be saving lives," said Seo. "Inspiring light and goodness. Giving love and compassion and hope. How can that be evil?"

Drusilla wasn't sure what to say.

"Let's try… an experiment!" Seo proposed. "You're a bit temporally sensitive. So… think, right now. Reach out, with your 'sight'. Can you see something? A catastrophe, or evil thing, out there? Something we could change?"

Drusilla hesitated. Struggling to decide what to do. What was right.

Then… her whole body shaking… she nodded. A little reluctantly.

"There's… a place," Drusilla whispered. She closed her eyes. "I can see it. A workhouse. The… the fire. The flames…" She shuddered. "So many will die. So many bodies. So much…"

"Where?" said Seo.

"I don't know!" said Drusilla, popping her eyes open. "I never see where. Or when."

The Rentacachamel winged alien beside them then raised its head, and gave a soft screech. Paced over to Drusilla, kneeling down and gesturing for her to get on its back.

Seo's eyes lit up. "It must be temporally sensitive, too!" she realized. "But in a slightly different way! It can't see _what's_ going to happen, but it knows _where_!" She hopped onto the alien's back, and then pulled Drusilla up alongside. "You two, together — unstoppable. Brilliant!"

The Rentacachamel alien screeched, then lifted off into the air, Drusilla holding on for dear life, as it ascended into the heavens.

Seo laughed. As if flying up past the London smog and through the clouds was one of the most amazing joys of her life.

But Drusilla just kept worrying. Riding this creature into the Heavens — wasn't that as much an affront to God as building the Tower of Babel? Here she was, not just acknowledging her curse of foresight, but actually using it, transgressing the Lord's divinity in so many ways…

The creature swooped down, landing on the rooftop of the workhouse. And Drusilla was dragged from her worries, as the Rentacachamel reared back, and she and Seo toppled off it.

Seo seized Drusilla. Not knowing how much time they had left. "What's going to happen?"

Drusilla hesitated. Not sure what to do. "But… but using this curse… it's an affront to God. I can't—"

"If you don't use this, every single person in this building is going to die," Seo pleaded. "You can save their lives. Save everyone. Please!"

Drusilla still wasn't sure.

Seo looked right into Drusilla's eyes. "Your family died," she whispered. "You know how horrible that felt. Don't let that happen to anyone else. _Save them_."

Drusilla stared at her. The entire weight of the matter sinking in.

Then Drusilla nodded. Her eyes now determined. Every cell of her being certain of what she had to do. She raced forwards, down into the building, stumbling down stairs fast as she could manage. The locks of her hair flying backwards with every leap.

She burst into the room she'd seen in her vision…

 _The man lighting his pipe, then startled by a laborer coming up to him. Starting, violently, and dropping the match onto the ground. The match landing in the oil spilled across the floor, igniting into a burst of flames. Spreading, as it raced through the greasy rags lying littered throughout the room_.

And there, in front of her, was the man, pipe in his mouth, beginning to strike the match.

"No!" Drusilla shouted.

She threw herself at him, flinging both unlit match and matchbook out of his hands as they both toppled to the ground.

The man stared at her. Shocked. Alarmed.

"Young lady!" he snapped. "What in blazes do you believe…?"

"Wow, you weren't kidding, Drusilla," Seo commented, entering the room, and examining it. "This place is an inferno waiting to happen."

"I beg your pardon!" said the man, getting himself up off the ground. "But what are you two doing here?"

The laborer who'd been about to ask the man something stopped, in mid-step. Seeing the altercation. Then, a little timidly, fled the room.

"Really, I mean, would it hurt to clean up this place, a little?" Seo asked. "It's a tinderbox! One spark and the whole building would go up."

The man straightened his suit. "That's all right," he replied. "I have plenty of other workhouses. I can always…"

"But think about it, logically, for a moment," Seo argued. "What's more economically advantageous for you? Hiring a few workers to mop up the mess? Or having to replace an entire workhouse and hire entirely new staff?" She grinned. "Do the cost-benefit analysis. The maths aren't that hard."

The man paused. Staring at Seo, shocked. "Well… I suppose you might have a point, but…" He shook his head. "How the devil did a mere _girl_ manage to think up something like that?"

Seo tapped the side of her nose, with a grin.

Then grabbed up Drusilla, by the hand. Helped her to her feet, steadied her, and then led her out the room and down the stairs.

Drusilla just followed. Holding Seo's hand. A little stunned.

"I… I stopped it," Drusilla whispered. "The conflagration — I can see — it won't happen, anymore. It's all changed."

Seo beamed. "You saved everyone in this building."

Drusilla felt a small smile touch her lips… for the first time in a long while. "I… I saved…"

The sight. It wasn't a curse. It wasn't evil. Seo had been right, all along. If such a thing could help save so many innocents, could help prevent the deaths and devastation… then how could it be evil?

As Drusilla emerged, onto the street below, seeing the Rentacachamel waiting for the two of them, there, she stopped in place. The enormity of what she'd just done crashing across her.

And she broke down into violent, passionate sobbing.

Seo turned, alarmed. Put an arm around her shoulders. Soothing her, calming her. Asking her what was wrong.

"I've seen… so many murdered," Drusilla sobbed. "So much death and misery and pain. My family, my friends, the man I once loved… all slaughtered before my eyes! And… here… now…" She looked back at the workhouse. "I saved lives. Hundreds of lives! I stopped anyone else from living through what happened to me."

"You were brilliant," Seo agreed.

Drusilla looked deep into Seo's eyes. "I've prayed my whole life for a miracle. And… here, now… in my darkest hour, when I thought all hope had abandoned me…"

Seo gave Drusilla a hug, which Drusilla returned with heartfelt eagerness.

"You made the miracle happen, yourself," said Seo.

But no.

 _Seo_ was the miracle. The one who inspired others to create goodness. She who brought light to the shadows.

"Thank you," said Drusilla. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

The Rentacachamel, nearby, snapped his neck around. Then gave a high-pitched, terrified screech, and rose up into the air, frantic, flapping away.

Seo cursed beneath her breath, pulling out of the hug, as she realized the creature she'd been chasing all day had just flown off. "It'll take me forever to work out where it went."

But Drusilla wasn't listening to Seo, anymore. No. Because she'd just been swept up by another vision. Another flash. And she _knew_. With a certainty that shuddered through her, an ice-cold clarity… she _knew_ …

All hope drained from her.

Replaced by an icy terror, a sick dread, deep down inside.

She grabbed up Seo by the hand, and pulled her along, racing as fast as she possibly could. "No," she whispered. "No, please. Not now. Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!"

"What…?" Seo asked, stumbling to find her footing.

" _He's_ coming," Drusilla whispered. "He knows I've found happiness and salvation! It's made him angry!"

"The man who's been hunting you?" Seo asked.

"I should never have done this to you!" Drusilla said. "You gave me a spark of hope, in the darkness, and now… that'll be what kills you! I've killed everyone around me. They've all died, just because of me!"

"Drusilla…"

But Drusilla wasn't about to listen.

They darted through the London streets — but Drusilla didn't know this part of town, and the London fog was too dense to see through. She rounded a corner, then froze, as she came face-to-face with a wall.

Spun around, as she heard the familiar cold, cruel chuckle.

Her blood turning to ice. Her body shaking.

"Well, well," said the voice, as the man emerged from the fog. That same horrible man, with the brown hair and black suit. "And just when I thought… maybe she's finally learned her lesson… here she is. Bringing me another victim to murder."

"Don't," Drusilla begged him. "Please. Don't."

"And such a pretty one, too," Angelus mused, examining Seo. "Blond. You know, I've got kind of a thing for—"

"It's you!" Seo cried. Her entire face was illuminated, glowing with a bubbling sort of happiness and excitement. She clapped her hands with glee. "Oh, that's just brilliant!"

Angelus blinked. For a few moments, taken back by Seo's exuberance.

"You know, there's something I've always wanted to say to you," Seo continued. She stepped forward, conspiratorially, and raised her eyebrows. "Sentient dimension or not, I think your kids are _rubbish_!"

Angelus opened his mouth to speak, but… no words came out.

Seo turned back to Drusilla. "Come on," she said, with a gesture. "He's just a small-scale bully. He's not going to hurt you."

Angelus composed himself. Stepped directly into Seo's way, his face morphing, his eyes glaring at her, murderous and yellow.

"On the contrary," said Angelus. "I'm going to hurt her a lot. But first, I think I'll kill you."

Drusilla grabbed Seo, yanked her away from Angelus.

"He's a murderer," Drusilla whispered. "With no scrap of conscience. He tortured and killed my entire family in front of me. He'll do it to you, too."

Seo looked between Drusilla and Angelus, her brow furrowed. "You mean… you can't see it?" She pointed at Angelus. "What he is? What'll happen to him?"

Drusilla seemed utterly lost. "He's… a vampire. He's…"

"Oh, right, of course," Seo realized. "You've had no exposure to higher dimensional causality. You might see it, but you don't know what it means." She bit her lower lip, thinking it over. Then beamed. "See, thing is, I lied. Well, a bit. Turns out… I've seen the future, too. Not in the same way you have, course." She rocked on her toes. "I'm a time traveler. I've seen the future… because I've been there."

Drusilla wasn't sure what to say to this.

"And," said Seo, turning on Angelus, "I've seen _your_ future. Same way I can see what you are, temporally, right now." She quirked an eyebrow. "Truth is… you're a dead-end, Angelus."

"Talk, talk, talk," Angelus said. "It won't stop the—"

"No, really," Seo cut in. "See, there's another timeline, out there. A timeline locked out of the universe. And in that other timeline, Mom's named Elizabeth. And there's another Angelus." Her eyes gleamed. "Right around… oh, 1996… he's going to cross paths with a Line Hopper. Leap over into this timeline. And erase you, completely."

Angelus paused. Confused.

"That's your future!" said Seo, bouncing on her toes. "Can't be changed, can't be altered. You're not just going to die, Angelus. This version of you is going to be wiped from the records. Snuffed out." She gestured at Drusilla to follow her, as she tried to walk off. "Ignore him. He's not important."

Angelus, enraged, surged out at Seo, but she ducked, then caught him up by the arm and swung him over a shoulder so he thunked against the wall.

"Saw Mom do that," Seo said. She shook out her hand, wincing. "Think I mucked it up, a bit, though. That's imitation for you."

"You're the Slayer," Angelus said, eyes fixed on Seo, as he got back to his feet. He laughed, his eyes glittering in delight. "Oh, Dru, you've outdone yourself this time! Bring me a meal, and it winds up being Slayer blood."

Seo ignored him. Continuing to lead Drusilla off.

Angelus raced forwards, flinging Drusilla away, catching Seo up by the shoulders. Fangs bared. "Always wanted to drain a Slayer," he said.

Something dark passed across Seo's face, in that instant. And, with a strength even Angelus hadn't expected of her, she hurled him away, so hard that when he collided with the brickwork, it crumbled around him.

"You think I'm a Slayer?" Seo asked him, advancing on him. "Oh, you stupid little vampire." She reached down and yanked him up by his cravat, so he dangled in the air. "You want to know who I really am?"

Angelus opened his mouth to speak, but Seo cut in, first.

"I am great," Seo said, "and I am beautiful and when I walk in a room all eyes turn to me because my name is a holy name and if you ever touch Drusilla again then I will pull out your vital organs and stick this one," pointing, "here, and this one," pointing elsewhere, "here." Her eyes burned. "You got that?"

Angelus was a little too shocked for words.

Seo thrust him away from her. Then turned. And left, with Drusilla.

"What…?" Drusilla began, when they were out of Angelus' line of vision.

Seo shushed her. Listening, for a few seconds. Then grabbed her hand. "Run."

They raced forwards, fast as they could. Darting along London streets. Seo leading Drusilla as if she knew exactly where they were going. Both could hear the pursuing footsteps of Angelus, just behind them, shouting out taunts and jeers through the London fog.

"He's gaining on us!" Drusilla squeaked.

"Yep, worked that one out," Seo agreed.

"But there's nowhere we can run that he can't find us!" said Drusilla. "Nowhere we can hide or find sanctuary. He will always track me down!" Her voice was panicked. Terrified. "Trust me, I know!"

Seo slowed. A smile on her face. "Well. _Almost_ nowhere."

She took out a small key, and inserted it into a glass object that Drusilla hadn't noticed, directly in front of them. Drusilla felt her panic rising. Angelus would certainly break in there! All he had to do was shatter the glass!

"Seo, don't…!" Drusilla pleaded.

But Seo grabbed her up and jerked her inside. Then shut and locked the door, behind them.

"My father was the one who installed the shielding around the outside," Seo explained. "And he's a bit brilliant. Don't worry. No vampires can get in here."

Drusilla just stood, in the threshold. Staring upwards, in utter disbelief. The small glass object she'd seen had only been a foot and a half higher than herself. But this… this palace… it ascended upwards and upwards, higher than Drusilla could make out.

Impossible.

"Is this… your home?" Drusilla breathed.

"No, it's my ship," said Seo, walking forward. "My home's in the future."

"Seo?" a voice echoed down, from one of the upper levels. "Did you find that alien?"

"Sorry, Mom! It got away," said Seo, with a sigh. She raced towards the spiral staircase, where the woman was descending. "But I made a friend! She's in trouble and I decided to make it my special project to help her."

A laugh, from the woman descending the staircase. "Yeah, well, that's a total Seo-no-brainer," said the woman. She climbed down the last staircase, emerging into Drusilla's line of vision. Blond hair, like Seo's. "So what's the mega-badness she's…?"

The woman stopped. Froze in place, as her eyes met Drusilla's.

"Her name's Drusilla," said Seo, chirpily. "Evil Angel is out there, destroying her life. But now that I'm here, I'm going to stop him!" She clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing on her toes. "Isn't that brilliant?"

"Um…" said Seo's mother.


	4. Chapter 4

"You can't save her," Buffy said, the moment she and Seo were alone, together.

Seo crossed her arms. "Why not?"

Buffy pointed at the locked door. "That's Drusilla, Seo. _The_ Drusilla. You know? The insane vampire that dates Spike, is all future-visiony, and goes mega-badness on Sunnydale?" She sighed. "And as if that's not bad enough in terms of timeline screw ups — now you've met Angel, and you look just like me. And I'm sure, if he'd seen someone looking exactly like me floating around 1860, he'd have mentioned it."

"But it's not the same Angel," Seo insisted. "We're in a dead-end pocket of causality. The Angel you know came from Elizabeth's timeline, and got switched into this one by the Powers that Be the moment he saw you in high school. _This_ Angel is the one that's supposed to be in this timeline. The one that'll get erased, when the switch happens."

Oh, God.

Higher dimensional causality. That was enough to make Buffy's head spin.

"Okay, okay!" said Buffy. "So… Angel's weird. Whatever. But what about Drusilla?"

"What about her?"

"Well, she's not going to magically pop up in the future a vampire no matter what we do here, right?" Buffy said, hands on her hips. " _Her_ timeline has to stay the same!"

"Why?" Seo demanded.

"Because… because… it just does!" said Buffy, throwing up her hands. "I remember it, so it has to happen."

"But why?" Seo asked.

"I don't know!" said Buffy. "Stop asking me hard questions, here! You can't save Drusilla. Can't you just accept that?"

"But I was told stories about your life all through my childhood," Seo insisted, "and I've never heard of a 'Drusilla'. So maybe she wasn't that important."

Buffy blinked. "Wait, seriously? You heard all about the thing with Angel becoming evil and Spike coming to town… and you never heard of Drusilla?"

Seo shook her head.

"She was with Spike when the Judge showed up!" Buffy said. "When Angel lost his soul, she became one of his groupees. She—"

"But would anything have changed vitally if she wasn't there?" Seo insisted. "Was she directly responsible for any of what happened, during that year?"

Buffy hesitated. Her mind frantically searching through what she recalled of that time. But… while she was sure there had to be something, Buffy… just… couldn't think of anything in particular. Even Kendra's death had been at Angel's instigation.

Damn.

"She… sired Spike!" Buffy said. There. That was definitely something important. "And Spike stopped the First and helped thwart tons of apocalypses."

"But he's too vital to the timeline, anyways," Seo dismissed. "If Drusilla hadn't sired him, someone else would have. Time can compensate for one minor change like that."

Buffy opened her mouth to argue… but… wasn't sure how.

"Mom, I have to do this," Seo pleaded. "Just… meet Drusilla for yourself. The way she is, now. She's so brilliant. She wants to be good. She wants to save lives and help people. I've seen what she can do! She could become one of the most amazing forces for good this world's ever known."

"But maybe that's why she has to be destroyed," said Buffy. "Maybe, if she isn't sired, now, she'll turn into some superhero, and change—"

"Then I'll take her somewhere else," Seo said. "Somewhen else. But I'm not waiting around and standing by while Angelus tortures her!" She clenched her fists by her sides. "I'm not going to let her give in, just because some madman's killed her friends and family, destroyed her world, and then made her life hell just for the fun of it. Whatever the consequences, whatever the risks — I'm going to save her."

Oh, no.

Buffy could see what was happening, here.

Just as destroying Drusilla's life became an obsession for Angelus, saving it was now becoming an obsession for Seo. Neither side would back down. Neither side would give up. Angelus and Seo would escalate this until it became some kind of epic battle.

_This_ was the Doctor's first test for Seo.

"She's innocent," said Seo. "A good person. She doesn't deserve what Angelus is trying to do to her."

Buffy hesitated. Remembering… when Angel had told her almost exactly the same thing. Told her how much he regretted doing what he did, how much guilt and misery it caused him, later.

If Seo could take that all away from him…

But could she do it? Was this changing history too much? Or was this one of those little detail type things that you could change without screwing up the rest of time?

The Doctor had said… Seo would know whether or not she could alter history. That she'd be able to see, in a way Buffy couldn't. If Seo was telling the truth…

(And that was a _big_ if.)

…then maybe, just maybe…

"You're taking a really huge chance, here, Seo," Buffy warned.

"I know," Seo said. "But I have to. It's worth it."

* * *

Angelus stayed in the shadows.

Watched. Waited. Observed. Studied the girl Seo's movements and actions, trying to work her out. Trying to understand how she operated and what she was, so he could determine the best way to strike her down.

"Found yourself a new obsession?" asked Darla, in his ear, as she discovered him spying on Seo, one day.

Angelus kept his eyes trained on Seo, waiting by a bench in a local park. Watched as she beamed, when Drusilla emerged, the latter speaking rapidly about what she'd just accomplished and the lives she'd just saved. Taking both Seo's hands in hers. Holding them just a moment too long.

As Drusilla's alien flying monster screeched, beside her, and Seo laughed, remarking that the alien seemed to really love Drusilla. And Drusilla looking at Seo with a heartbroken longing in her eyes.

"No, just following up on an old one," Angelus muttered. He took another sniff. Frowned. "The blond. What is she?"

Darla sniffed, too. Considered. Then sniffed again. "Never smelled anything like her."

"She's strong," said Angelus. "Too strong. And a bit clever."

"Slayer?"

Angelus shook his head. "No. I thought so, at first, but… she's definitely not. She's something else. Something… different." He glanced back at Darla. "She says she's a time traveler."

Darla froze. Sudden horror overcoming her.

"Not that I believe it," said Angelus, returning his gaze to the scene in front of him. "But she's got this hexagonal… pillar. Made of glass. A tiny thing, barely large enough for her and Drusilla to hide inside."

"Then it's true," Darla breathed. "That means… they're _real_. They actually exist."

"But… for some reason… I can't get in," Angelus continued. "Can't even shatter the glass. And as for her claims that it's a space ship, well—"

"Angelus," Darla cut in, her voice suddenly quiet. "Give Drusilla up. Forget all of this ever happened. And run for your life."

Angelus laughed. "As if I'll be cowed by some silly little girl who believes herself—"

"She's a Time Lady," Darla whispered. She cursed under her breath. "I read about them. Heard the legends. I'd always assumed the Time Lords were just myths. Stories to frighten the newbies." She shuddered. "I'd never seen one before today."

"Time Lord?" asked Angelus. Shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"The Time Lords — our ancestral enemies," said Darla. "Alien travelers through time and space. Devoted to purging all vampire life from the universe." She put a hand on Angelus' shoulder, trying to lead him away. "Trust me, if she's seen you, she'll report you back to her home planet. And once that happens… we're screwed."

Angelus shrugged her off. "Unless we kill her," he said. That'd shatter Drusilla apart, for sure. Angelus took another sniff, his face morphing into his vampiric visage. "She makes me hungry just smelling her."

"It won't work," Darla hissed. "You can feed on a Time Lord, but the moment they die, they burst with light brighter than the sun. Burn you away. They come back to life. You don't."

Angelus paused, a while longer. Musing this over.

"It's not worth it, Angelus," said Darla. "Give it up."

Angelus glanced back at Darla. "Give her up? Drusilla?" He smiled. "Oh, no. Never. She's mine." He shrugged. "And as for the Time Lady… I don't have to kill her. I just have to lock her up and torture her. Make her break."

Darla hesitated.

Angelus turned to Darla, wrapping his arms around her. Could see the hunger in her eyes, just as it was in his.

"There… are legends…" Darla ventured, "about Time Lord blood. Its properties."

"Are there?" Angelus mused.

"They say it makes you invulnerable," said Darla. "Impervious to all harm. Immune to sunlight. Stronger, faster."

"Mmm, liking it already," said Angelus, bending down to give Darla a long, passionate kiss. He grinned, as he emerged. "So. How about this? I capture the Time Lady. Feed on her until she has too little blood to even stand. Then… I take her for myself. While Drusilla watches. Her guilty little love, torn apart beneath me." His eyes glowed, with the anticipation. "She'll shatter apart."

"You're taking a very big risk," Darla warned.

"Yeah," said Angelus. "But I have to. Trust me. It's worth it."

He turned, as he observed another blond woman, running forwards, towards Seo and Drusilla. This one running with the poise and stature of a trained fighter, her scent distinctly Slayer. She scanned the area, with the expertise of one who was used to looking for vampires. Stopped, her eyes resting on Angelus' hiding place.

Then the blond woman whispered to the other two, and tugged them off, into the distance.

Well…

Blond. Looking almost exactly like Seo, but a little different. Older. The mother, if Angelus wasn't mistaken. A human mother.

And he remembered… the way Seo had blown up at him, the moment he'd mentioned how much he wanted to drain the Slayer…

"And I think," Angelus continued, "I've just worked out the way to do it."

* * *

Seo wasn't afraid of him.

But Drusilla was. And of the three people with access to the inside of that unbreakable glass pillar, Drusilla was clearly the weak link. Just looking at him still made her tremble.

So Angelus sat in wait, for her. Until the moment she stepped out, alone, with no Seo around to act as bodyguard.

Then, he emerged.

"Well, look who's fallen head-over-heels in love," Angelus snarled at her.

As he expected, Drusilla edged away. Leaving the door wide open.

"And you call yourself a good Christian," Angelus tutted, shaking his head. His grin grew that much colder. "Do you touch yourself and think of her, when you're alone? You wicked, wicked girl."

"I'm not wicked," Drusilla breathed. Edging away, further and further. "I… want to be good. I want to be pure. She's… a friend. Only a friend."

"Is that what lets you sleep at night?" asked Angelus. He lunged at her, and she screamed, hands in front of her face.

Then turned, and bolted away, fast as she could run.

"Wicked, wicked Drusilla," Angelus said, shaking his head. Turning back to the glass pillar with the open door. "And very stupid."

As he stepped inside.

* * *

Buffy unlocked the door to Seo's ship. Walked inside, locking it behind her. Running a hand through her hair, as she paced the console room.

Okay. So the problems kept multiplying.

First problem. Seo was saving Drusilla. Even though Buffy knew Drusilla didn't get saved.

Second, Angelus was now stalking Seo, pretty much everywhere she went. And Buffy had run into Angelus, before. Sadistic. Evil. Deranged and determined and not deterred by anything.

Third, the Rentacachamel alien Seo had been chasing had gotten seriously attached to Drusilla. Formed some weird telepathic bond thingy with her. Which meant that if they saved Drusilla, they'd wind up having to leave both Drusilla and an alien on Earth, doing all kinds of stuff that they weren't supposed to be doing, and…

And…

And Buffy didn't _want_ to destroy Drusilla.

There! She said it!

After meeting the human Drusilla, so full of determination to help others, full of love and compassion and brightness… trying so hard to be good and pure and make the world a better place, despite all that had been done to her…

Oh, God.

This was going to be the same Drusilla who would gleefully hypnotize Kendra and slice her throat. The same Drusilla who would torture Angel mercilessly just because she could. The same sex-crazed murderous vampire that wanted to tear apart Buffy's life, as a teenager.

This sweet, wonderful person, who just wanted to save people.

Seo was right. If Drusilla hadn't become a vampire, she'd have become a saint.

Buffy knew this trip was one of the Doctor's tests for Seo. Knew that what the Doctor had said was true — sometimes, to do the right thing, you had to do something that was horribly, horribly wrong. Knew that her instincts were all telling her that screwing with this Angelus-Drusilla thing was Bad with a capital B.

But if Buffy convinced Seo to let history take its course…

If she stood by and allowed Drusilla to be destroyed, torn apart, massacred and turned into a monster…

Buffy turned on the central console, her eyes ablaze, and kicked the underside with her foot. Her hands bunched into fists.

"Who are you testing, Doctor?" Buffy shouted. "Seo or me?" She kicked it, again. "Seo or me!"

"If it's you, I'm pretty sure you failed," came a smooth, icy voice from behind her, whispering just in her ear. A voice she recognized.

Buffy tried to turn and attack, but Angelus was right behind her. Buffy didn't have the chance to do anything, before darkness overtook her, and she fell.


	5. Chapter 5

Drusilla had just saved a little boy from dropping from a bridge into the river, below. Had given him back to his parents, and when she'd turned back to Seo, Drusilla had that familiar look of love and wonder and compassion flooding through her.

How could anyone see that brilliance in her — that love of humanity and life — and not try to nurture it? How could Angelus dare to snuff that out?

Seo told this to Drusilla, as they walked back to Seo's ship.

"It's the most beautiful thing in the world," Seo said. "That love and compassion. Don't you think?"

Drusilla's eyes fixed down on the ground. Her hand in Seo's, her lower lip trembling, just a little.

"Not… the most beautiful," Drusilla whispered. Her eyes drifting back to Seo, lingering on her face. "Not even close."

Seo thought this over. "You're right," she decided. "Giving hope to those with none. That's more beautiful." That… and… Xander Harris. Especially when he got that dopey little grin on his face, that was just begging to be kissed. But that was neither here nor there.

They approached the ship, and Seo slid her key into the lock.

"Seo," said Drusilla, quietly. Her voice shaking.

Seo glanced back at her, over her shoulder. As the door clicked unlocked. She quirked an eyebrow.

"I… I don't know how to say this," Drusilla said. "But… since you've come into my life… so much has changed. What I thought was wicked… I find myself questioning." Her breath came a little faster.

"Good!" said Seo, with a beam, pushing open the door. "Your visions aren't wicked, you know. They're just there. And you're brilliant with them."

"Not… just my visions," Drusilla admitted. She followed Seo into the console room of the ship, shutting and locking the door behind her. "The thing is… I think… I might be falling…"

But Seo stopped listening, the moment she took in the scene transpiring in the console room, in front of her. She froze. Eyes staring.

Mom was restrained. Tied to a chair and unconscious. Her whole body covered in tiny little gashes, made from a knife blade.

And knelt behind her, knife in hand, was Angelus.

"Hope you don't mind," said Angelus, gesturing down at his victim. "I got tired of waiting. So I decided to start in, early."

Drusilla gasped. Staggering backwards, as she saw what had been done.

"Oh, yes, that's right," Angelus mused. "You recognize this, don't you, Dru? That was… your aunt, right? Bled to death on the floor. Shame."

Seo's jaw was set. Fire raging in her eyes. "How'd you get in here?"

"Funny thing," said Angelus. "Drusilla left the door open for me. Guess she just likes me." His eyes lingering on Drusilla. "Or… likes someone she shouldn't."

Drusilla's face went bright red.

"But enough with the talk," said Angelus. He slapped Mom across the face. "I think we should start the festivities."

Mom groaned, her eyes peeling open. A frown on her face, as she stared at him. "Angel?"

"Rise and shine, Slayer," said Angelus. "Guess whom I've invited to join the fun? Your daughter."

Mom blinked. Then seemed to recall where she was, when she was, and what was happening. She tried to sit up, fight against the restraints, but Angelus pushed her down.

Mom turned her head to look at Seo. "Don't flip out," she warned.

Seo felt rage bubbling through her. The fire running through her veins.

"Seo," Mom said, sternly. "I'm fine. I'm not sacrificing myself for you. Everything's okay." Her eyes shone with intensity. "Don't kill him."

Angelus laughed. "A Slayer protecting a vampire!" he cried. He wiped a strand of hair out of Mom's face. "Oh, you really are stupid, aren't you?"

Seo gritted her teeth.

"Don't!" Mom said to Seo, again.

"It's not the real Angelus," Seo hissed. Stepping forward, her hands clenched by her sides. "An alternate. He's going to get erased, anyways."

"And if you kill this one, what happens to the other one?" Mom snapped. "You can't tell me there are no consequences, Seo. I _know_ there are. I _know_ —"

She was cut off by Angelus stabbing down into her arm with the knife, Mom cringing in pain and biting her tongue to stop from screaming.

Seo burst forward, but Angelus held the knife blade against Mom's throat, and Seo stopped.

"Good girl," said Angelus.

"You idiot, let me talk to her!" Mom said, flicking her eyes back to him. "You've got no idea who you're dealing with."

"Oh, I know she isn't human," said Angelus. "I can smell it on her. A… 'Time Lady', I believe it's called. She is part alien, part Slayer." He looked over at Drusilla. "Is that what draws you to her? Is that what makes you long to—?"

"Oh, my God, Angel!" Mom shouted, in frustration. "When did you stop being sadistic, egomaniacal, and creepy, and actually start getting some brains? This isn't about you or Drusilla!"

Seo bit her lower lip.

"You can't kill him, Seo," Mom said. "You can argue about Drusilla, but this one I know. Angelus doesn't die in 1860." Her eyes blazing. "So you don't kill him. Alternate or not."

Seo didn't answer.

Could barely keep herself from tearing apart the maniac who was threatening her mom.

"You can't give up your dream over this," Mom pleaded with her. She looked around herself. "This ship. Everything you've done to be able to travel. Everything you've done to shut _her_ away inside your head. It's amazing. Don't throw it away over some stupid battle with Angelus. It's not worth it." She looked back at Seo. " _He's_ not worth it."

Seo frowned. Suddenly realizing… "This is a test."

She should have seen it before.

Her father would never have just… fixed her ship, without putting in some fail-safes. Making sure she wouldn't mess up time and space and the universe.

"Whatever Angelus does to me, you can't flip out," Mom warned Seo. "If you go all Slitheen-heart-extraction over this one, Seo, there's no way the Doctor's ever going to let you—"

She cried out, as Angelus stabbed the knife blade into her shoulder. Snapped her head around to glare at him.

"Okay, you're not making this any easier, mister!"

"I don't like being bored," said Angelus, putting the knife blade against Mom's throat, again, before Seo could move. "And you two… are boring me." His eyes fell on Seo. "Now. Here's the situation. I've got your mummy. And I can do whatever I want to her." He grinned. "And, apparently, you can't kill me to stop me."

"Maybe I don't need to kill you," said Seo.

"And maybe, if you don't, I'll kill your mummy before you make a single move to stop me," said Angelus. "Same way I did with Drusilla's." He stroked a hand across Mom's head. "So. Let's talk terms."

Seo stayed silent a long moment.

Then she stepped back. Unclenching her fists. "I'm not giving you Drusilla," she said.

"Oh, I'll crack that nut when I come to it," said Angelus, with a shrug. Blew Drusilla a kiss, and she cowered back.

Seo hesitated. "Then… what do you want?"

"You."

Seo said nothing for a long moment.

"What for?" she asked, at last. Her voice little more than a whisper.

Angelus gave her a sadistic smile. "I think that's up to me to decide." He brought the knife blade closer to Buffy's neck. "Once you're my captive. My personal blood farm. At my mercy. And I can do anything I want to you." His eyes fixed on Drusilla. " _Anything_."

Drusilla gave a long, deep shudder.

Mom just cracked up at this. "Oh, yeah, because I haven't seen the end result of _that_ one before." She glanced over at Seo. "Okay, before I forget. You're not allowed to wipe out the vampires 150 years early, either."

"I figured that one," Seo muttered.

Angelus didn't listen to them, though. He was still staring at Drusilla, as if trying to tear her apart with just his eyes.

Drusilla came over to Seo. Put her arms around her, protectively.

"Aw, that's sweet, Drusilla," said Angelus. "But you can't protect her. Any more than you could protect your sister." His voice lowered. "Don't you remember what I did to her?"

"Don't," Drusilla begged. "Not to Seo." Her arms hugged Seo, a little tighter. "I… won't let you touch her."

"But _she'll_ let me," said Angelus. His eyes falling back on Seo. "Won't you? To protect your mummy?"

Seo said nothing.

"You'll hand yourself over to me," said Angelus. "Let me do anything I want to you. While Drusilla watches." The knife sliced into Mom's throat, even more, so blood seeped out across the blade. "And any word of protest, any struggle or resistance from you… and I'll do it to your mummy, instead."

But Seo wasn't looking at Angelus, anymore. Her eyes had shifted. Fixed on the central console. A rush of thoughts tumbling through her mind.

This… is a test.

"So… that's all you want," said Seo, turning back to Angelus. "You just want to torture me, destroy Drusilla, and probably murder my mother when you think I'm defenseless and vulnerable. But that's it. No time machines or anything." She grinned, then untangled herself from Drusilla's arms, and bounced over to Angelus. "Then yes! I accept the current terms! Carry me off and torture me! Absolutely!"

"Seo, don't—!" Drusilla said.

Seo turned back to Drusilla, a warning stare on her face. Put a finger to her lips, pointedly.

Then swung back to Angelus, beaming. And offered him her hands, to clap into restraints.

Angelus hesitated. Taking in what Seo was saying. He finally began to take in the ship around him, in a way that he clearly hadn't before. "Time machine…?"

Seo froze. "No, not the ship," she pleaded. "Mom's right. You're messing around with something you don't understand. If you tried to use this thing, you could take over the universe. Go anywhere or anywhen, and feed on anyone you choose. I can't just let you corrupt history like that!"

A feral grin spread up Angelus' face, eyeing the central console with all the controls.

Seo's eyes went wide. "I'll let you do anything you want," she begged. "To me! To Mom! Even to Drusilla. Just please, _please_ , don't touch that central console!"

"So it's that easy, is it?" Angelus mused. He grabbed up Mom's chair, lifting it with him, so he could continue to threaten her, while he made his way over to the central console. His eyes glowing, in anticipation. "Feed on anyone I want."

"No, please, don't!" Seo said.

But Angelus didn't pay attention to her. Just reached out a hand, and grabbed up a lever on the central console.

Then screamed.

Stumbling backwards, yanking back his hand, where it had been burned and was now smoking. Mom, who'd long since managed to break through the restraints and had just been waiting for her chance, flipped to her feet, and drove Angelus backwards, punching and kicking and striking.

Seo darted forwards, attacking from the other side. Using every single move she'd ever watched Mom use against monsters. Every single punch or kick or flip. Both of them maneuvering a stunned and overwhelmed Angelus back towards the outer door.

Drusilla, thinking on her toes, flung it open, just in time for Mom to vault Angelus out of it. Then slammed the door shut, and locked. Her back pressed against it.

"I… I… I'm sorry," said Drusilla. "I didn't mean to let him in. I was just… I didn't… he said I was…"

"Don't do it, again," Seo warned. She sighed. "Meantime… that console burned his hand, and that means…" She raced back to the central console, undid a few catches, and threw the top of it open. Staring inside, at the TARDIS coral nestled into the base. "Like I thought." She shook her head. "You know, that makes everything about this ship make a lot more sense."

"Seo…" said Mom, coming up, closer.

"Is he controlling _everywhere_ I'm going?" Seo asked. "Or just these 'tests' of his?"

Mom cringed. In that way she did when she actually didn't know.

"He's just worried about you, Seo," Mom said. "And the universe. I mean, if you screw something up, he's the one who has to go fix it."

Drusilla tried to take this all in. Venturing forwards, staring into the base of the central console. Confused. "This is what makes it travel through time?" she asked. "Is… it… more magic?" She looked upwards. "Like the staircases?"

"Those aren't magic, that's dimensional engineering," Seo replied. She gestured at the central console. "And _this_ is called having an over-manipulative father."

"He said it'd grow into a real TARDIS someday," Mom offered. "If you kept it there long enough. It's incentive for you to keep yourself alive and stop with the suicidal heroicness."

"'Someday' meaning a few million years from now," Seo clarified.

Mom clearly hadn't known that part, either. "You… can live for millions of years! If you don't do anything suicidal and crazy."

Brilliant.

"If he's planning to take over where I fly my ship, every single time I go anywhere," said Seo, clanging the top of the console shut, "I'm hunting him down and sticking him in a time loop. He can't… just… keep me out of danger like that!"

"Oh, I've got every confidence that you'll wind up in serious danger no matter where you go," Mom muttered. "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to work that one out."

Seo turned back to a very clearly still bewildered Drusilla. Smiled reassuringly at her.

But Drusilla's eyes were fixed on Mom.

"You… said… Angelus didn't die in 1860," said Drusilla. "You know the future. You've been there. But… you won't let her," pointing at Seo, "change the things you've seen. You've seen them… and so they have to happen."

Mom hesitated.

"I've been altering things, based on my sight," said Drusilla. "Since I met Seo. We've been saving so many places. Helping so many people." She turned to Seo. "You told me that was right. You said it was good." She shook her head. "But… your mother… says foresight is a sign of what must never be changed."

"It's more complicated than that," Seo said. "Time isn't linear. There are dimensions to it. Different sides of it. Time's complicated… sort of… weird and wiggly and fiddly with all sorts of bits and bobs poking out. Some events you can change, and others you can't."

"And how do I know the difference?" asked Drusilla.

Seo hesitated.

Realizing… for a human… there was no way to know.

"What would happen," Drusilla ventured, "if I were to accidentally use my foresight to alter something that should never be altered?"

Seo opened her mouth to answer this. But her voice failed her.

Buffy grimaced.

"Then… my mother was right," said Drusilla. She grabbed onto the central console, with both hands. Her eyes staring at Seo with a horror and devastation too deep to iterate. "Right about everything. Some things… are an affront to the Lord. We might feel them, see them, know them, but to act upon those urges and impulses… would be wicked."

"But it's not!" said Seo. "You've been helping people. Saving lives. You—"

"What… what happens to me?" Drusilla asked, turning to Buffy. "In… the future?"

Neither Buffy nor Seo said a word.

Drusilla's hands shook. "You… you knew me," she whispered. "When you first met me. You… recognized my name. Know my fate, just as you know Angelus'."

Buffy didn't answer. Bit her lower lip.

"I'm going to become evil," said Drusilla, trembling. Terrified. "And die. Aren't I? I… really am fated to be… wicked."

"I don't care what fate says," Seo snapped. Both to Buffy and Drusilla. She threw up her arms. " _I_ was fated to be the most horrible super-weapon in the universe, remember? And I chose not to. I refused."

Drusilla trembled.

"This time travel test isn't about you," Seo assured Drusilla. "It's about Angelus. That's why he's a temporal dead-end version. So that, if I kill him, I just fail the test and don't wind up sending history crashing down in flames, as well."

Drusilla dropped her head down to the floor. "But I can see it," she whispered. "I saw it the moment we met. And I can see it, even now. Every time I look at you. I can see." She glanced back up at Seo. "You. Seo. My beautiful little angel, dropped down from Heaven to save me." Her eyes filled with the hints of tears. "You'll be the one to cause my death. Twice."

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"What? Twice?" asked Seo. She shook her head. "But… how…?"

Drusilla ran forward, hugging Seo to her, tightly. Desperate to banish the tears from her eyes. "Don't let me die," she begged. "Don't let me become wicked. Please. Save me, Seo! Save me!"


	6. Chapter 6

It was nighttime. Drusilla had long since gone to bed. But Seo stayed up. In the console room of her ship. Staring at that TARDIS coral caught in the middle of it.

"You can't stop this," Buffy said, softly, coming down the stairs.

She'd bandaged herself up, from where Angelus had struck her. And with Slayer healing, it shouldn't take too long to get better from this.

But that wasn't her main concern.

"You heard what Drusilla said," said Buffy. "Your showing up in her life wasn't enough to change history. She saw you cause her death. Twice."

"That doesn't even make sense," said Seo.

"Once, by leaving her to her fate, here," Buffy said. "And… again… because the Powers that Be were trying to flush you out. And made your father angry enough to destroy every vampire on Earth."

Seo said nothing.

"I'm sorry," said Buffy. "But you know what happens. You don't save Drusilla."

"I don't care what she's 'seen'," Seo gritted through her teeth, her eyes never leaving the TARDIS coral. "Her visions are of flux points in time. That means I can change this."

"All of her visions?" asked Buffy. "Or just some of them?"

Seo didn't say anything.

Buffy knew what that meant.

"She gets visions of everything, Seo," said Buffy. "Fixed whatevers. Flux whatevers. They're all jumbled together, so she can't tell them apart. And if she acts on the wrong one…"

"She's saving lives," said Seo. "You can't argue with that."

"Some lives shouldn't be saved," Buffy said, her voice dark. "Some lives can't." She looked away. "I learned those things long ago."

Seo took a long, deep breath. "What's… she like?" she asked. "As a vampire?"

Buffy didn't answer.

"Does she act anything like she acts now?" Seo asked. "Is there any… spark of goodness or virtue that remains?"

Buffy sighed. "No," she admitted.

Seo glanced up at Buffy. "Then how can you tell me this is wrong?"

Buffy said nothing for a few long moments. Then walked over to Seo. Put her hand over her daughter's. Looked right into her eyes.

"Look, I'm not all time-travel-expert Buffy or anything," she said, "but… I saw what almost happened, today. When Angelus was all with the torture."

Seo didn't say anything.

"What happens to Drusilla is horrible," Buffy continued. "But… compared to you going Mega-Hell-Goddess on the universe — it's the lesser of two evils."

Seo still stayed silent.

"Angelus isn't going to back down," Buffy reminded Seo. "What's he going to do, next, Seo? He can't kill you. And you won't let him kill her. What's he going to do to get to her? What are you going to have to sacrifice to keep her alive?"

"It's my sacrifice to make," said Seo.

"Would you sacrifice me?" asked Buffy.

Seo squeezed her eyes shut.

"She's supposed to be with the Sisters of Mercy," said Buffy. "A nun in a convent. That's where Angelus finally breaks her. He kills every nun there, and it drives her insane. And I know that's not good, either, but… from a history-altering standpoint… nuns don't have kids."

No answer from Seo.

"You took her away from that," said Buffy. "Put her around a bunch of people who _are_ supposed to have kids. If someone else dies, instead of those nuns… who won't be there, when we get back to the future, Seo? Who'll have never been born, because of what you did, here?"

"You're wrong," said Seo. "That's not how history works. You can't see it. You're human — you don't know."

"My brain's human," Buffy agreed. "But not my instincts." She looked away. "And they've been telling me, from the start, that this is a bad idea."

For a few long moments, there was nothing but silence between them.

Both remembering the way Drusilla had clung to Seo, tears in her eyes, and begged to be saved. Said… she wanted to be good. She wanted to live.

"I can't kill her," Seo whispered. "I just _can't_."

Buffy said nothing, for a few moments longer. Then nodded. Turned. And walked back to the spiral staircase.

"Mom."

Buffy paused. Looking back at Seo.

"You know I'm right," said Seo. "She doesn't deserve this."

"I know," Buffy admitted. She turned back to the staircase, and kept climbing. "But I also know that every decision has consequences. And yours is going to have a lot."

* * *

"I wouldn't say my meeting was useless," said Angelus, as his hand was bandaged. "On the contrary. I learned a lot." He grinned at Darla. "They can't kill me. Everything, now — it's a test. For the Time Lady. She kills me, and she fails her exam."

Darla sighed. "She's a Time Lady," she said. "They're clever, Angelus. Trust me. She doesn't have to kill you to stop you."

"She's clever? So am I," said Angelus.

Darla didn't answer, just finished bandaging Angelus' hand.

"See, I was listening," said Angelus. "A hundred and fifty years in the future, she said." Along with a load of rubbish about the extinction of the vampires, which Angelus knew couldn't possibly be true. "How many generations is that?"

"Six," said Darla.

"That means for every one person I kill, here," said Angelus, "at least thirty six people disappear from their world. If not more." He gave Darla a feral grin. "See? It's easy. Doesn't matter if I kill them, directly. All I need to do… is kill as many people as I can." His eyes glimmered. "And I think I'll start the menu… with all those people Drusilla's been saving."

Just to show her that she can't save anyone.

She should know by now. Any life she helped… he could snuff out. In an instant.

* * *

The massacres happened at random.

Not even Drusilla could foresee them.

They began at all the places Drusilla had saved. Targeting the very people she had helped. A family whose youngest son had been saved by Drusilla's foresight, would turn up, the entire group of them slaughtered.

Workhouses were destroyed.

Churches and their clergymen wiped out.

And every single time, on the outside of Seo's ship, another number, written in blood. Human blood.

"We told him… a hundred and fifty years," Seo breathed, examining the number. "He's tallying… the death count for the 21st century."

They tried to stop it. Raced out and tried to take back what had been done. But they were always too late.

Then Angelus killed the Rantrocachamel alien. Sliced it up, right in front of the ship, and left it for them to find.

A message carved into its corpse — _This is what happens to the aliens you love._

"I've been wicked," Drusilla breathed, staring at the bloody remains of the alien she'd come to love. "Given in to urges I should never have felt. I… made this happen."

"No," said Seo. Her voice hard. "This was done by a sadistic maniac. It has nothing to do with changing history." She gritted her teeth. "It has nothing to do with _you_."

Mom was less sympathetic.

The moment Drusilla was out of earshot, Mom threw the newspaper down onto the central console, staring into Seo's eyes. "How many more, Seo?" she demanded. "How many more will you let die to win this stupid contest with Angelus?"

"It's not a contest!" Seo insisted.

"Then what is it?" said Mom. "You're not trying to save lives, anymore. You're not trying to preserve time. You're not—"

"And what do you want me to do?" Seo hissed. "Let her die? Shove her to the mercy of a psychopath who just won't stop tormenting her? Force her to throw herself off the edge of a ship to save the lives of billions, because in one weak, stupid moment, she just couldn't stand the pain and the deaths anymore and gave in, like Ben?"

Mom stared at her. "Okay, seriously, Seo. What's this really about?"

"I'm not letting her die!" Seo said. "Not now! Not ever! She's done nothing wrong! She doesn't deserve any of this." Her eyes went dark. "And if that means I have to kill Angelus to do it, then I'll kill him."

"And fail the test."

"I don't care."

"And alter history!" Mom added. "Do you know how many times Angel's stopped the world from ending? Do you think—?"

"This isn't Angel!"

"It still counts!" Mom hissed.

Seo didn't answer.

" _Everything_ matters, Seo," said Mom. "Everything we do. It always has consequences, stretching across multiple timelines. What Elizabeth did still affects me. What I do still affects her. Since you arrived in this universe, Dawn has picked up and become fluent in, like, three different brand new languages in just a few months. Do you understand?"

Still, silence from Seo.

"You have to let this go," said Mom. "Let Drusilla go."

Once more, nothing from Seo.

Mom sighed. Got up from her spot leaning against the central console. "Okay," she said, heading to the door. "Then you let me go."

Seo's eyes went wide. "No!" She raced forward, snatching Mom away.

"You're an independent element of the universe," Mom said. "Separate from the time-stream. But I'm not. My ancestors are out there. If Angelus kills them, he might not get rid of you. But he'll get rid of me. And he'll get rid of my sister." She turned back to the door. "If someone dying in that monastery is what it takes to save my sister from never existing, I'll do it."

Seo yanked her back, a little harder.

Mom looked at her. A stern stare on her face. A pointed look in her eyes.

"If you can't choose between her and the world, Seo," said Mom, "choose between her and me. It's your decision. Your consequence. You have to live with it."

* * *

"It's called… the Sisters of Mercy," Seo explained, as the ship landed with a small clunk sound. Seo trudged over and creaked opened the doors. Gestured, vaguely, outside. "You can pray and devote yourself to worship and God. Like you wanted to do."

Drusilla hesitated. Looked outside, at the monastery. Then back at Seo.

"But… but… then I met you," said Drusilla. "And you said…"

"I was wrong," said Seo. Not willing to meet Drusilla's eyes. "Knowing the future…" She shook her head. "It's the greatest curse of them all."

Drusilla didn't answer.

"Take your vows," Seo urged her. "Keep yourself pure. Because… you were right, Drusilla. Right all along. I… was wrong." Her eyes looking that much more miserable.

Drusilla nodded, slowly. Reached out, wanting to take the hands of this beautiful blond who'd fallen into her life, but… no.

No.

Even Seo had said… that was wrong.

"I'll never stop feeling… the way I feel about you," Drusilla said. "My hero. My—"

"Drusilla," Seo cut in, squeezing her eyes shut in bitter pain. "Please. Don't."

Wicked. Like so much else inside her.

Drusilla stepped outside, into the monastery. That feeling of peace and tranquility washing across her face, as she found herself once more surrounded by the purity of God's worshippers. And then that horrible numbness, as she realized… she'd never be as pure as they were.

Drusilla hesitated.

Then turned, looking back into the ship. "Can I become pure, again?" she asked. "If I take vows? Can I wash away the evil urges and impulses, and find favor with God, once more?"

Seo didn't answer. Couldn't even meet Drusilla's eyes.

"Will… I be safe?" Drusilla asked. Stepping back to her. "From… Angelus? From… myself?"

Another wave of bitter pain spread across Seo's face, as she turned away. "Goodbye, Drusilla."

Drusilla stared. As it flashed across her. What would happen. What the future would bring. What Seo was leaving her to face.

And Seo knew it, too.

Drusilla raced forwards, but the doors shut and locked before she reached them. She banged her fists against the glass door. "Seo!" she shouted. "Seo!"

Could hear the ship starting up, the engines roaring.

"I can be good!" she pleaded, as the ship faded and disappeared beneath her fists. "I can be saved! Just give me another chance! Please! Give me another chance!"


	7. Chapter 7

Buffy sat beside Seo, against the wall of her ship.

Seo buried her face in her knees. Stubbornly refusing to cry, or even acknowledge Buffy's presence.

"A lot of bad things have happened to me," said Buffy. "Things I didn't deserve. I got shoved into the middle of a Hell Goddess battle, and died. Then I got resurrected, which drove Willow crazy and allowed the First to almost completely wipe out the Slayer line. And I got all my happy endings snatched away and quarantined out of the universe."

Seo didn't answer.

"But… you know what?" said Buffy. "I wouldn't give those events up. Any of them." She gave a small smile. "Glory's obsession with the Key gave me my sister. My resurrection created a new, better Slayer Institution, built on something other than death and darkness. And… my happy endings… gave me you."

Still, silence from Seo.

"Sometimes, the best things can come from the worst tragedies," said Buffy.

"What good could possibly come from this?" Seo muttered.

"Spike did."

Seo said nothing. For a very long time.

"Drusilla… was my friend," said Seo. "I believed in her. And then… I left her to die." She shuddered. "It's like I killed her."

"Angelus killed her," said Buffy. "Not you."

Seo's entire body shook with rage, at the name. "Angelus," Seo hissed, in a dark voice. "That… monster."

Buffy got up. Absorbing all of this, taking it in. "Can you send this ship anywhere?" she asked. "Like, even modern day Earth?"

Seo nodded.

"Then go to Los Angeles," said Buffy. "Present day. There's someone you need to meet."

* * *

Angel stared at the person who walked through his office door.

"Buffy," he said. Couldn't help but give a smile. He'd never expected to see her. "Giles said you were off… time traveling."

Buffy moved aside, to reveal someone Angel had never seen, before. Someone who looked almost exactly like her — but a little different. A little younger. Her eyes the wrong color. Her eyebrows a little pointier.

"And this… must be… Seo," Angel realized. He gave a small laugh, and shook his head. "Dawn wasn't lying when she said you two looked similar."

"We were time traveling," Buffy said. "To London. 1860."

"To…?" Angel froze. A feeling of dread welling up inside of him. "Where in London, 1860?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure you know."

Oh.

Oh, no.

"But… but I don't remember seeing you…" Angel said.

"You wouldn't," said Buffy. "Higher dimensional causality whateverness. We got stuck with the Angel that was supposed to be in this timeline. The one you erased when you jumped over from Elizabeth's." She gave a long, weary sigh. "And, can I just say, if you were anything like him, you weren't just sadistic. You were a total moron!"

Angel jumped up. Suddenly realizing… all those marks and cuts… must have been caused by…

"Are you all right?" asked Angel. He raced over to examine Seo. "Both of you?"

Seo snapped her head up. Dark eyes meeting Angel's.

He froze beneath her gaze.

"I saw what you did to her," Seo hissed.

Every ounce of guilt and pain over that incident surfaced. Every long hour he'd spent wishing he could take it back. Every nightmare and horror he'd faced, since then.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Seo's expression melted. "You're… you're actually…?"

"Every day," Angel confessed. "And every night. And every second I think about it." He looked away, bitter pain flooding through him. "She was pure. Wonderful. One of the best people I've ever met. And what I did to her… was… just..." He shook his head. "I can't forgive myself for it. Ever."

Seo didn't answer. Wasn't sure what to say.

"I can't take back what happened," Angel said. "All I can do is try to make sure… it never happens again. To anyone else."

A little of the anger fell away from Seo's eyes.

"I… told her that," said Seo, softly.

A flash of understanding flooded through Angel. "You… tried to save her. Give her back hope."

Seo nodded.

Angel put a hand on Seo's shoulder. Looked deep into her eyes. Smiled at her. "Thank you. Really. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you for trying to stop me. And… I'm sorry. Again. For all of it."

Seo looked up at him. Struggling to banish the tears from her eyes.

"I forgive you," she said, at last.


	8. Trial Two — Virginia, 1701

"I can't believe I'm patrolling!" Seo enthused, racing through the streets of Colonial America, stake in hand. "An actual vampire-hunting patrol! It's brilliant!"

Wow.

If anyone had told Buffy, growing up, that patrolling was 'brilliant', she'd probably have hit them.

Thing was… it had been so long since Buffy had done this, herself, that… she kind of thought it was 'brilliant', too. When she'd first seen those bite marks on the dead woman's neck, they'd brought back a certain sense of nostalgia.

Seo shot Buffy an excited grin. Her eyes glowing with anticipation.

"Look, the key to vampire patrolling is to follow your instincts and…" Buffy hesitated. Actually… those instincts were the same ones that had made Seo decide that standing up to Angelus and saving Drusilla was a really good idea, huh? "Okay, on second thought, screw instincts," said Buffy, turning a corner. "Just imitate what I do."

As the feeling intensified in Buffy's Slayer senses, she shushed Seo, slowed her down. Better do this by stealth, figure out what they were dealing with, first.

The vampire had just finished feeding.

Stood up, tossing his cape behind his shoulders. Turned so Buffy could see his wrinkled, pale face, his glowing red eyes, the redness around his lips.

Buffy's eyes went wide. Recognizing him.

Seo's eyes narrowed, as she took in the fallen human. Raised up her stake, and surged forwards.

Buffy, frantically, grabbed at Seo and yanked her back.

"No!" Buffy hissed. "You can't stake him! He's the Master!"

Seo looked very confused.

"The… other Master," Buffy said. "The vampire one. The one I meet in 1997. Which can't happen, if you stake him in 1701!"

Seo paused. Her eyes still darting between the retreating vampire, and Buffy. Trying to decide.

"Don't go all Drusilla-saver on me, again," Buffy told Seo. "We'll come up with another way to stop him. But we can't kill him. Got that?"

Seo sighed. Then slumped, and nodded.

Buffy grinned. Turned, racing off into the distance, to follow the vampire.

Seo lingered, a few minutes longer. Her eyes fixed on the dead human, left behind after the Master's latest feeding.

"You never let me kill the Master," Seo muttered, trudging off after Buffy.


	9. Trial Three — Twirlfeen, 3392

"No," the President of the Slayer Institution said, on the holo-screen.

Eron Halstor VII, from the executive suite of his space ship, gaped at her. His face growing furious. "No?" he shouted. "What do you mean, no?! I told you—"

"And I said no," said the President. She gave him a dark glare. "The Slayers are not your personal army, Mr. Halstor. We serve a higher purpose."

"Oh, of course," said Halstor. "You're just carrying on in the late Mr. Sompters' memory, aren't you?" He raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you be surprised to learn the truth behind him? Wouldn't you be surprised to find out—?"

"I already know," the President growled.

Halstor stopped. Blinked.

"You… already…?" Halstor said.

"We've just had a very interesting visitor, here in the Korjensky star system," said the President. She crossed her arms. "A man who wanders around in a blue box, learning the truth. He knew Farox Sompters." Her eyes narrowed. "He told us everything."

Halstor's jaw dropped. And for a few moments, he was speechless.

"The Doctor was right," said the President. "We're the Slayers. We serve a higher purpose." Her eyes growing that much darker. "We do not serve you, Mr. Halstor."

"I see," said Halstor. For a few moments, he was thoroughly rattled. Knew that… whatever fighting force he had… it would be nothing compared to the Slayers. They'd tear him down in no time.

Then he remembered.

And gave her a challenging stare, a small, confident smile on his lips. "Well," said Halstor. "You've made your decision. I suppose I can't stop you." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "Shame, of course, about your brother."

The President, for a few seconds, was so outraged, she could barely speak.

Then… composing herself, planting a determined expression on her face, said, "This is more important than him. More important than any of us."

Now Halstor really was worried. "You'd let your own family—?"

"A word of advice, Mr. Halstor," said the President. "Don't mess with my family." Her eyes twinkled, as she stared him down. "Because all the rumors my brother told you are true. And if you cross us… you'll pay for it."

* * *

For a long time, after they stepped out of the ship, all Buffy could do was stare at the purple sky and blue grass.

An alien world.

Like, a really, _really_ alien world.

Seo sighed, shutting the ship doors behind her and looking around. "Is this my father's test to see if I actually read all those books on alien histories that he left me?"

Buffy glanced back at her daughter. "Did you?"

Seo cringed. Grinding her shoe into the ground. "I… flipped through… a few sections."

Buffy gave her daughter a pointed look.

"What?" said Seo. "They were really boring!"

"I thought you liked books," said Buffy.

"I like novels," Seo countered. "Those weren't novels. Those were Giles-books. Except boringer."

Buffy had to bite her lip to stop herself from cracking up at this.

Sometimes… Seo was so much like her, it was scary.

Seo's eyes lit up, as she grabbed Buffy by the hand, and raced across the park and towards the rest of the city. "Come on! Let's explore!"

* * *

"This is where I, as the enigmatic time traveler, am supposed to say something impressive, like, 'the air tastes like Monday,' right?" asked Seo, bouncing on her toes, in the newsstand.

Buffy came over to her, newspaper in hand, checking the date. Monday, June 16, 3392.

"Does it?" asked Buffy.

Seo stuck out her tongue, testing. "Tastes more like… stale crisps." She considered, a frown on her face. Then turned to Buffy. "Do you know how to tell days of the week without checking?"

"Well, Tuesdays are when Dawn finds trouble," said Buffy. "Everything else… no idea."

Seo's eyes glowed. "Tuesdays?" She skipped forwards. "What day do I find trouble?"

"Every day," said Buffy. She showed her daughter the newspaper. "Here you go. The date."

Seo grabbed up the newspaper. "I was right! It is Monday!" she cried. Then frowned. Tilted her head. "The Twirlfeen Gazette." She glanced up at Buffy. "Twirlfeen. Is that where we are?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I think this is the part," Buffy whispered to Seo, putting the newspaper back, "where you, as the enigmatic time traveler, are supposed to explain what Twirlfeen is, where it is, what's going on in the 34th century, and then tell me not to wander off." She raised her eyebrows. " _If_ you'd actually done your homework."

Seo's face turned bright red. "Oops?"

Buffy looked around. She didn't know what Twirlfeen was, but the people around her looked human, for the most part, and… well… if this was a Doctor-test, that meant there was going to be serious trouble right… about…

A blazing array of red warning lights unfolded from the sidewalk, an alarm sounding.

"This is not a drill," said a woman's voice. "Everyone remain calm and proceed down to the bunkers. Emergency security measures are now in progress."

"Uh, huh," said Buffy. She sighed. "Expecting that one."

It was then that she noticed the ultra low pitched rumbling, shuddering across the air. She and Seo looked up, to discover a great big space ship in the upper atmosphere, bucking and diving as if completely out of control, engines smoking and whining.

On a collision course with this city.

Buffy sighed, again.

Thanks, Doctor.

Buffy grabbed up Seo by the wrist, and began to drag her in the same direction as everyone else was rushing, but Seo yanked Buffy the other way.

"Back to my ship!" Seo said. She looked up into the sky. "They need help!"

"And you think you can figure out what's wrong with a crashing ship, fix it, and redirect it — all in the minute or so before it actually crashes?" Buffy challenged, as she allowed herself to be dragged off, through the crowds of people and back into the park.

"Nope," said Seo, beaming, as she flung open the doors to her time machine. "That's why it's a good thing I have a time machine!"

Buffy stood in the entryway to the ship. Oh, no.

"Seo," Buffy warned. "I think this is a really bad idea."

Seo slammed the doors shut behind her, then raced around the console of her time machine, fiddling around with it. "All I've seen, so far, is that ship careening into the upper atmosphere," she said, as her own ship juddered into life. "I'm not going to stop that part. I'm just going to fix their engines, at the last minute — after they enter the atmosphere — so they don't crash."

It took her about 30 tries to actually manage to land in the right spot.

But she did get there, eventually. Onto the out-of-control ship. Before it crashed.

And was promptly arrested.

* * *

"No, really," Seo insisted. "We've got tickets and everything! We're—"

"Listen, young lady," a blue-skinned alien wearing a business suit retorted, waggling a finger in her face. "Mr. Halstor doesn't take kindly to stowaways. This is his private transport, for himself and his top employees — and as the head of HR, I can safely assert that neither of you work for him." He straightened, adjusting his tie, officiously. "The moment we touch down on Twirlfeen, you two are going straight to—"

"It's all right, Xilgro," said a young human-looking man with reddish hair, as he entered the loading bay. "They're with me."

Xilgro spun around. Looking very huffy and irritated. "With you?!"

"Slayers in training," said the young man, easily. "I took them along as a favor to my sister." He shot Xilgro a pointed look. "Is that all right? Or should I contact my sister and let her know…?"

"No!" said Xilgro, hurriedly. Then recomposed himself. "Not at all, sir. I'll… just… clear it with Mr. Halstor…"

The blue-skinned alien zipped out the door, fast as his legs could carry him.

"If that's what dropping your sister's name does," Seo reflected, staring off after the alien, "I'd hate to get on her bad side."

The man didn't answer. Just stood, staring at Buffy and Seo, a look of utter shock on his face. As if he couldn't quite believe his eyes.

"It… it's you, isn't it? Really you?" said the man. He shook his head. "I've been told, of course. But… I never believed…"

Oh.

Damn.

This guy had mentioned Slayers, hadn't he? And his sister made people scared. All of which meant…

"You recognize me, huh?" said Buffy. She buried her face in her hands. "Just please don't call me Bunfy. I had way too much of that last time."

"Bunfy?" asked Seo, looking amused.

The man opened his mouth to answer, when a loud thunk sound echoed throughout the ship, and they were all thrown to the ground. The engines whirred into a high-pitch whine, and then the entire area around them erupted into sparks.

"Engines," Seo said, yanking herself up off the ground. She turned to the man who'd vouched for them. "I have to fix them, or this ship's going to crash." She glanced at Buffy. "You go to the front of the ship. Stay in contact with me. And do what I say."

"You want me to crash-land a space ship?" Buffy cried. "But…!"

The next lurch made up Buffy's mind for her.

"On second thought," said Buffy, racing towards the front of the ship, "I've crashed a car. How much different can this be?"

Seo turned to the man.

Who led her off towards the engines.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" the pilot shouted, as Buffy burst into the cockpit. He only afforded her a brief glance, as he frantically tried to save the crashing ship. "This is a restricted—"

"Yeah, and in about two minutes, we're all going to be raspberry jam, restricted area or not," said Buffy. "So how about you stop shouting and let me help?"

"Reverse thrusters offline," said the co-pilot, flipping a few switches overhead.

"Then try rerouting the auxiliary engine power through the turbines!" shouted the pilot, frantically trying to gain control of the steering of the ship.

The co-pilot frantically poked and punched buttons. Shook his head. "Nothing. Asteroid didn't just knock out our engines — it unbonded the ships coupling servos. Nothing's functioning."

"Then we're dead," said the pilot. "And on a direct collision course with Twirlfeen."

The comms system crackled into life, and Seo's voice came through on the other end. "Mom. You there?"

"I'm here!" Buffy called. Then realized… she probably needed to press a button or something. She looked over at the co-pilot. Cringed. "Do you… know how to…?"

The co-pilot pointed at the button, then got back to his frantic efforts to save the ship.

Buffy pressed the button. "I'm here!"

"The ship was running using its auxiliary engines," said Seo. "I need you to switch control back to the main engines."

"What?" shouted the pilot.

"Ma'am," said the co-pilot, into the comms system, "those engines were struck by an asteroid. They don't work. They'll—"

"There's plenty of fuel ready to combust," said Seo. "But the ignition system's broken. So I'm going to reconfigure the ship so the fuel ignites on re-entry."

"You'll blow up the ship!" shouted the pilot.

Buffy, however, had already spotted the neatly labeled switch that controlled which engine the ship was using. And yanked it back to 'main-engines'.

The ship gave another lurch, as it entered the upper atmosphere, the outside of the hull growing red hot, the pilot and co-pilot shouting angrily at Buffy.

"Now… when I say… switch the full-speed density gravitizer onto reverse," said Seo.

The co-pilot punched the comms button. "The full-speed gravitizer isn't working right!" he snapped. "It'll—"

"I know it isn't working the way you think," said Seo. "I'm counting on that, to contain the combustion of the engine fuel." She paused. Then shouted, "Now!"

The co-pilot, not seeing any other option, threw the switch.

The ship spiraled through the air, then… miraculously… began to twist upwards, its nose leveling out. The pilot stared, shocked, as he regained control of the steering, and jerked the ship away from Twirlfeen and back into the sky.

Three minutes later, they touched down on the ground. Safely.

Seo shaking the hands of everyone onboard, being congratulated as a hero for everything she'd done. Buffy looked on, for a short amount of time. Then shook her head, and made her way back to Seo's ship.

Something… felt… weird about this. Like… a bad taste, at the back of Buffy's mouth, that she couldn't wash away.

Buffy dug out the books the Doctor had left for Seo. Searched through them for… there! The history of the planet Engozunch, city of Twirlfeen, late 34th century.

And read.

Ten minutes later, Buffy realized… Seo had just failed her final test.


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you mean, the ship _had_ to crash?" Seo asked, when Buffy had managed to drag her away and back into their own time ship.

Buffy thrust the book in front of Seo.

Who stared at the page. Stared at the photos of destruction, in the crashed ship's wake.

"The people in the city mostly survive, because of those emergency systems we saw, earlier," said Buffy. "But the ship definitely was supposed to crash. It's written here, in black and white."

Seo opened her mouth to say something, but… words escaped her.

"Look, you're the one with the fixed-point sensing skills," said Buffy. "You tell me. Did we just screw this up, or not?"

Seo looked up at her mom. And it was pretty clear from the look on her face… exactly what the answer was.

"Oops?" she tried.

Buffy clapped the book shut. "What I want to know," she said, "is why you keep changing things you know shouldn't be changed." She threw up her hands. "If only just to pass the test!"

"Sensing fixed-points isn't instinctive or anything!" Seo protested. "I mean, yes, I can sense them if I check. I just… sometimes… forget to check."

Buffy wanted to hit her head on something.

"Well… well… you've got senses telling you if there are vampires around!" Seo challenged. "Don't tell me you never forgot to check in with those senses, back in Sunnydale."

Buffy cringed.

Okay.

Actually.

She'd done that particular screw-up _a lot_.

Seo raced for the central console. "It's over, we can't take it back, so… let's go somewhere else!" she said, frantically. "Somewhere really far away from here. Like…!"

"No!" Buffy shouted, jumping forward and tackling Seo to the ground before she could launch the ship back into the vortex. "We're staying here, missy. Until this whole screwed-up time thing gets fixed."

"But… but…" Seo spluttered.

"Those people were supposed to die," said Buffy. "Now they're alive. You can't say that's not going to change anything."

"So what do you want me to do?" Seo demanded, wrestling herself from Buffy's grip, and leaping back to her feet. She spread her arms open, wide. "Grab up a machine gun and start mowing down survivors? I'll admit I mucked this one up. But those people are alive. And _I'm_ not going to be the one to kill them."

Buffy bit her lower lip. Damn. Good point.

"Okay, okay, let's just… think this through," said Buffy, hands in her hair. "I mean, if this spot's all fixed-pointy, there's a reason, right? Some super chain-reactiony thing that happens because of that ship crashing."

Seo cringed. "I… suppose."

"But that history book didn't have anything chain-reactiony happening as a result of Twirlfeen being destroyed," Buffy continued. "Which means that the ship crashing stopped something else from happening."

Seo didn't answer.

"So we just go out there and patrol around for whatever super-huge thing changed," Buffy decided, planting a confident look on her face, "so we can catch it and stake it while it's still small, before it grows up and blood-sucks the universe!"

Seo quirked an eyebrow at Buffy. "It's a glitch in time and space. Not a vampire."

"My point is," Buffy continued, pointing at the door, "you're going to get out there. And help with the nitty-gritty, every day stuff. You're going to fill out all the paperwork and answer all the questions and do all the boring things you usually bail on, back at Torchwood. Until you figure out where time went wrong. And fix it."

Seo's jaw dropped. Her eyes looking utterly betrayed.

"You… you can't do that to me!" she shouted. She scurried back, trying to retreat into her ship. "That's… cruel and unusual punishment. I know my rights!"

"Seo," sighed Buffy, "saving the world is only half the job. Take it from me. The apocalypse prevention is show-offy and impressive. But the nitty-gritty, day-to-day stuff — that's where you really make the difference."

A look of utter horror crept across Seo's face.

Yep. She was her father's daughter, all right.

"Okay, fine!" Buffy said, throwing up her hands. "Think of it this way, then, Seo. Your father gave you a test. And you just failed it. Big time."

Seo bit her lower lip.

"So if you ever want this time machine of yours to work, again," said Buffy, pointedly, "you better get out there and try to earn some partial credit. You got that?"

Seo thought it over a moment. Then, with a bitter look on her face, eyes fixed on the floor, she trudged back out of the ship. Slamming the door behind her, loudly enough that the bang made Buffy jump.

Buffy glanced back at the central console.

"I dunno about her, Doctor," Buffy said to it, a smug smile on her face, "but I'm pretty sure I deserve some kind of medal for all of this."

* * *

"Who is she?" asked Eron Halstor VII, behind his desk. He leaned back in his chair. "I was told by the engineers who looked over my ship that there was no possible way we could have landed it. But that girl managed to pull it off. Easily."

"I've run a DNA scan," said Mr. Trandon, the black-suited man with the attaché case and file folder. "The supposed 'mother' had DNA we could—"

"Not her," Halstor cut in. "The girl! Who is the girl?"

Trandon hesitated. "Unknown."

"Unknown what?"

"Unknown… everything, sir," Trandon admitted. "No fingerprint identification. Retina scans turn up nothing. DNA is untraceable. She called the woman 'Mom', but we've found no evidence of that. Even the name she gave — Seosyrae — turns up a blank in our records."

Halstor's face grew dark.

"We… know one thing," said Trandon. "The girl isn't human. And, according to Mr. Xilgro, she appeared out of nowhere in a… glass pillar."

Halstor took this in. All darkness dropping away from him, in an instant. He leaned forward, suddenly intrigued. "Did she, now?"

Trandon nodded.

A small smile tugged across Halstor's face. "And that would make the woman…" He jumped to his feet and grabbed the file folder out of Trandon's hands, flipping through it. "And there she is. The last one. The last surviving member of the Sompters family."

Trandon stared at Halstor, a little baffled. "The DNA readings are true?" He shook his head. "But I thought the Sompters family died out with—"

"Farox Zeno Sompters," Halstor said, throwing the folder down onto his desk. "That suicidally heroic nitwit. Almost as arrogant a President of the Slayers as their current one — the witch."

Trandon nodded, slowly.

Halstor gave a bitter sigh, leaned back against his desk. "No wonder that Von boy took such an interest in them," he muttered. "I wonder. How much does he really know?"

"Sir?" said Trandon.

The smile returned to Halstor's face. "I want those two shadowed. Men set in position to separate them soon as possible." He paced towards the window, looking down over Twirlfeen. "Moment I say, place their glass pillar into my secure vault, and take the women."

Trandon nodded. "Understood, sir."

Halstor continued to look out the window as Trandon left. Musing it all over in his head, his eyes on the traffic, below. "The Lost Sompters' heir," he muttered. "And the thief. Finally. I've found them."


	11. Chapter 11

Okay.

So Buffy didn't know that much about time or changing history or anything.

But she was thinking the massive hordes of alien space ships that had just appeared out of nowhere and begun blasting the planet, below, were a pretty big indication that Seo's screw up might have been a little more serious than she'd thought.

"But… but there wasn't anything in the book about an alien invasion, now!" Seo hissed, as they all fled for their lives. "It lists all the alien invasions for this planet, and the next one's not due for another fifty years!"

"Yeah?" said Buffy. She glanced up at the flying saucers. "Tell them that."

Seo's brow furrowed, as she tried to work it all out. "Maybe… someone we saved on that ship was an alien spy or scout," she proposed, "and by saving that person, I've doomed the whole planet."

Buffy sighed, glanced over her shoulder, back at Seo. "Look, as much as I love this whole chat-thing we have going on, can you please figure out where you parked your ship, so we can get up there and kick serious invading-alien-butt?"

Seo opened her mouth to speak. But then stopped. Her eyes going wide. "Behind—!" Seo shouted, pointing.

But Buffy only had time to snap her head around and see a brief glimpse of someone wearing a black suit, before the bolt of light hit her body, and she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Buffy awoke, a short time later, to find herself without Seo. And inside a flying car thingy. Tied up and secured in the back.

Seriously secured.

Whoever these guys were, they'd dealt with Slayers before.

Buffy kept her eyes shut, so she could eavesdrop on her kidnappers.

"—until he needs her," said one of the men. "If she is the last remaining Sompters descendent, she'll be leverage for the entire Slayer Inter-Planetary Protection Institution."

"All of SIPPI?" said the other. He whistled, impressed. "Good take."

"Like I said," agreed the first.

"And what about the girl?" said the other.

"Dunno," said the first. "Top secret project, he said."

Buffy felt around, with her bound hands, grabbing up the concealed knife tucked into her belt. She jostled the tip into the handcuff keyhole, wiggling it around, trying to undo the catches exactly right. She'd learned this particular trick courtesy of Captain Jack, while escaping from that Rexor alien that had come through the rift.

It was hard. Okay, basically impossible. Buffy had said that to Jack, back when she'd learned it.

At which point Jack had replied — _"You think this is hard, now. You should try doing it naked."_ He'd winked. _"Best birthday party ever."_

In the air above Twirlfeen, the handcuffs popped open.

One of the men in front, hearing the noise, paused. Glanced back at Buffy. "You hear something?"

"Nope," said the other.

The first stood up, making his way between the two front seats, into the back. "Better just make sure…"

Buffy popped open her eyes, kicking up her still manacled feet to swing across his gun-holding hand and chuck the gun away from him.

Then back-somersaulted onto her hands, launching herself to her feet, and catching the gun in her other hand, pointing it back at the man.

"Where is she?" Buffy demanded.

The man held up his hands. "I… don't know."

The other turned in his seat, and fired back at Buffy, but she'd caught the motion and darted right, vaulting herself at him and sending the man flying. He tried to throttle her, and she pushed his hands apart and flung him against the far-end of the transporter.

He slumped down, blacking out.

The first one's eyes went wide, as he grabbed for the controls to the air-car, jolting it upwards to stop them from crashing. "What are you, crazy?"

"I'm a mom," said Buffy, her voice dark, "whose daughter is missing. Which makes me the craziest damn person on this planet."

The man landed the car on a rooftop. "Look, Halstor has her," he said. "Wants her for something. Maybe it's to defeat these alien goons! I don't know! But you can't—"

He was cut off by the roar of gunfire from the alien invasion, striking nearby, the screaming of nearby civilians echoing in through the car.

Screw it.

Best way to protect Seo was get rid of this invasion before it killed her.

Buffy snatched up the key to her leg manacles from the unconscious-guy, unchained herself, then threw him and the other goon out of the car. Sat down on the driver's seat, shoving her foot onto the accelerator and launching the flying car into the air.

Her eyes on the alien space ships.

"More than one way to get onto an alien space ship," she muttered.

* * *

Seo came to a long time before they expected. That much was obvious, based on the fact that the goons had left her unrestrained and unguarded, in the back of a flying car. Escape was trivial, like this.

But she didn't want to escape.

Was a bit curious about why someone would kidnap her in the first place.

So she pretended to be out. Waited, as they parked the car and smacked her across the face to wake her up. She blinked, noticing they'd landed on the roof of a mansion, there were a large number of armed guards pointing guns at her, and that others were dragging her to her feet and bustling her inside the building.

Interesting.

No one would tell her where her mom was, or say much of anything, really — until their group was intercepted by that blue-skinned alien that Seo'd been talking to, on the crashing ship — Xilgro — who was scrambling forward, looking tense and uneasy.

"Mr. Halstor will see her, now," said Xilgro. Gesturing at the door, worried eyes glancing out the window at the space ships. "And… for all our sakes… I hope she's every bit as impressive as he believes."

"Where's Mom?" Seo demanded.

"Safe," said Xilgro, racing off.

Seo sighed. Looked like that was the best answer she'd get.

Seo was bustled through the door, found herself in an office. Gold-leaf ornamented décor. Chairs inlaid with precious jewels. A filing cabinet made of a glass aquarium, fish swimming around the outside.

In the middle, a salt-and-pepper haired man sat at a desk, with an officious smile. A group of black business-suited men standing behind him. The man's eyes gleamed, as they rested on Seo.

Studying her.

Hands clasped before him.

"So. What are you?" asked Halstor. Voice relaxed, even, calm. "What's your name? Where are you from? How do you do what you do?"

Seo felt her jaw drop. "Is this really the time for personal questions?" she cried. Pointed out the window. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's an alien invasion—"

"But I _brought_ you here to ask personal questions," said Halstor. Leaned back in his chair, his eyes glancing back to the red-headed man Seo had met on the crashing ship. "Find out your secrets."

The red-headed man opened his mouth to speak, then froze. Thought better of it.

"Isn't that right, Von?" said Halstor, not bothering to look back at the man.

The red-headed man — Von — shifted his eyes nervously towards the window. "She… can do impossible things," said Von. "Can stop this invasion, single-handed. You have to—"

"Oh, do shut up, there's a good boy," Halstor snapped. He waved his hand at Von. "Remember. You're only here for the PR."

"I thought I was here because of my sister," Von gritted through his teeth.

Halstor ignored him. Eyes studying Seo, intently. "It's amazing, you know, but… everyone has a price," he remarked. "Something they'll give up even their most deeply held morals to protect." He grinned. "Even the late Farox Sompters. Now… he was a tough nut to crack."

Von's eyes went wide, but he said nothing.

"Oh, didn't you know?" said Halstor, swiveling his chair to face Von. "Farox Sompters. Former President of the Slayers. End of the Great Family. He was one of mine. Behind the scenes, of course." He tucked his hands behind his head. "And the Slayers all thought he was such a saint!"

Von gritted his teeth.

"Did you kill him?" Seo asked.

All eyes turned back to her.

"Just curious," said Seo, with a shrug and her most innocent expression.

Halstor's grin fell, a little. "No," he admitted. "The damned idiot ran into some… man with a blue box, during that incident with the Vrangiopods. Farox gave up his life to save those alien bastards, in the end. The madman."

Seo quirked an eyebrow.

"But that hardly matters," said Halstor. "My point is… everyone has a price. Well, of course they do. Or I wouldn't be in business, now, would I?" His eyes gleamed. "I've bought out countless people on that principle."

"You're an acquisitioner," Seo realized. "Buying out people instead of companies."

Halstor grinned at her.

"And… I'm your latest acquisition," said Seo.

"Bit more than that," said Halstor. "But we'll start with the acquisition, before we discuss your integration into the company."

Seo didn't answer. Just looked back out the window.

"Oh, no, don't tell me," sighed Halstor. "You're morally upright. Nothing I could offer to make you give that up! But…"

"What's a Vrangiopod?" Seo cut in.

For a moment, Halstor hesitated. Not expecting the question. Then waved the question away. "Just some… primitive, worthless life form," he said. "Evil and vile in every way. But that's hardly important. I—"

"A group of innocent aliens you wanted to destroy… because you couldn't buy them out?" Seo guessed. "You tried to use the Slayers to kill the Vrangiopods. But this Sompters fellow stood up to you."

"And paid the price," Halstor snarled.

Seo quirked an eyebrow at him. "You start an alien invasion on _his_ planet, too?"

The others all began to shout and protest, but Halstor silenced them. Glanced around the room to his other employees. "Leave us. Everyone." He turned to the armed soldiers, pointing guns at Seo's head. "You, too."

Everyone in the room nodded, and turned to go. The soldiers looked a little uneasy at leaving Seo unguarded, but were unwilling to defy the command.

"Not you, Von," Halstor snapped.

Von froze in his tracks. Swallowed hard. Then turned around.

The doors closed behind the others, departing the office.

"Please," Von said, the moment the others were out of earshot. "She doesn't have anything to do with this. You can't—"

"Von," Halstor interrupted, calmly. "There's a gun in my desk. First drawer. I want you to take it out. And point it at the girl."

Von looked, for a few moments, like he'd refuse. Wouldn't do it.

But with a sharp glance from Halstor, Von did what he was told. Fished out the gun, and pointed it squarely at Seo.

"The allies you've counted on, so many times before," said Halstor to Seo, "are all fully under my control. See?" His eyes gleamed. "No daring rescues and escapes. Not this time, thief."

This time?

Oh, no.

"This is all about something I haven't done, yet," Seo muttered, hitting her head with the palm of her hand. "Brilliant. What am I up to in my future?"

"In your future?" asked Halstor, pouring himself a glass of scotch. "You mean after you've been acquired and are working for me? Funny you should ask. There's this blue-box-man, see. Destroyed my hold over the Slayers." He sipped at the scotch, ice cubes clinking in the glass. "Thought you could start by taking him out. Then, of course, we'll move on to the Sompters heir."

Seo clenched her fists. "And if I don't, your alien buddies destroy this planet?"

She should have just let the space ship crash.

"Oh, this planet's going to be destroyed, anyways," said Halstor. "I'm not letting you save that. No, as it happens, the two matters are entirely unrelated." He swirled the scotch around, a glimmer in his eyes. "My leverage over you is your precious Sompters heir. The one you're currently calling 'Mom'."

Seo felt sick to her stomach. "What?"

"But you can't just destroy—!" Von protested.

Halstor spun around on his chair. "Got a message from your sister," he said. "While I was away. Apparently, her morals are worth more than your life, Von-boy. Or Sally's."

Von's face went pale.

"Think they're worth more than a planet?" Halstor asked, gesturing out the window.

Seo stepped forwards, teeth gritted. "Stop this. Now. Or I'll stop it myself."

"And if you do, the Sompters heir dies," said Halstor, "and you get shot."

"Do I?" Seo spun around to face Von, throwing her arms up in the air. "So go on! Shoot me! I dare you!"

Von froze.

"What are you? Chicken?" Seo shouted. Waving her arms at him. "If you're going to do it, then _do it_!"

Von, with a trembling hand, lowered the gun. "I… I'm sorry, sir," he said. "I can't."

Seo turned back to Halstor. "Mom's probably already escaped," she said. "And I'm in no danger." She spun on her heels. "So if you don't mind, I've got a planet to save."

She'd gotten half-way to the door, when Halstor's voice cut through the air.

"Von," Halstor commanded. "If she takes one step out that door — please shoot yourself in the head."

Seo spun around. And watch, in disbelief, as Von pointed the gun at his own head.

"He… he wouldn't!" Seo said. "He…!"

"Knows what's at risk if he disobeys me," Halstor cut in.

Von's eyes pleaded with Seo. "Sally's pregnant," he said. His hand shaking around the pistol. "I… I have no choice."

Seo stared at him.

"So, miss Guardian Angel," said Halstor, folding his hands on the desktop. "Now that I have my leverage. What's your final decision?"


	12. Chapter 12

Buffy had never seen the aliens in question, before. A race of short-looking gray beings, with four large black eyes on their heads and an awkward shuffle.

That didn't bother her.

What did bother her was that the aliens, themselves, didn't seem very hostile. While the space ship was armed with missiles and things, the aliens onboard it had nothing even remotely weapon-like. Didn't know martial arts or lash out at Buffy, at all, the moment she began fighting. Just turned, screamed, and fled.

Weird.

So… planetary invaders who were totally unprepared to cope with someone fighting back?

"Why am I the first person figuring this out?" Buffy asked herself, as she pursued the fleeing aliens. "Isn't anyone fighting back, at all?"

She managed to corner them all in a room filled to the brim with complicated-looking electronic equipment. They cowered back, then pressed a series of buttons.

The small sheen of a force-wall shot up, between Buffy and the others.

Damn.

"Look, just… talk to me, here," Buffy said, putting up her hands, to show she meant no harm. "What's the deal? You guys don't look like the planetary invader type."

The aliens all conferred with each other, in hushed voices. Then looked back at Buffy, and conferred again.

"I'm just trying to save the people down below," Buffy said. "The ones you're blasting with your UFO super-guns. If you stop killing them, I'll—"

"You're in violation of contract," one of the aliens cut in.

Buffy frowned. Confused. "Huh?"

"No one's supposed to fight back," said another alien. "That's what he guaranteed. You… you can't possibly…"

"Unless the plan's changed," muttered a third. "And he's double-crossed us."

Buffy stared at them all, starting to work it out. "You guys… don't actually want to do this," she said. "You're being forced."

* * *

"You never said we'd be fighting SIPPI!" said one of the terrified Teptors, in the video transmission that Halstor had taken, shortly after he'd sent the girl with Von to be acquired.

Halstor sighed.

Knew all too well the terror of alien races to make an enemy of the Slayer Institution.

"I've checked with my informants in the Korjensky star system," said Halstor. "There've been no commands or orders from there. Whoever this Slayer is, she's not acting for SIPPI. She's rogue."

The assertion didn't help.

"So she's not acting on their orders, _now_ ," the Teptor said. "But what about when the Korjensky Officials hear about what we're doing here? You said our identities would be secret!"

"If she entered your space ship, it's _your_ fault she knows your identity, not _mine_ ," Halstor said. "That's not a violation of contract."

"If Korjensky finds out we're invading, you'll be implicated, too!" hissed the Teptor.

Oh, too late for that one.

They knew he was implicated. That was the whole reason he was doing this.

But — of course — the Teptor didn't know that.

Halstor leaned back in his chair, a small grin touching the sides of his face. Looked like he could tie up even this loose end. "Then you'd better make sure that Slayer never reports back to Korjensky," said Halstor. "Hadn't you?"

* * *

On the alien space ship, Buffy was trying to figure out what to do. It was hard to kick serious alien butt, when the aliens in question were just slaves subjugated by someone else.

Then one of the aliens inside the force shield, who'd been bent over a computer terminal, jumped up and ran forwards, muttering something to all the others. They all huddled together, once more, and conferred.

They broke apart. Turned back to Buffy.

Angry, determined looks in their eyes. As they grabbed up weapons.

"You're not with SIPPI," said one. "A rogue element."

"A spy," said another.

Buffy took a step backwards. Wow. Talk about a 360 personality change. "Are… you feeling okay?"

"There's only one way to make sure you don't report back to Korjensky," said an alien, advancing with menacing eyes, arming a gun, and pointing it straight at Buffy's head. "To kill you."

The force shield went down.

And Buffy turned.

And ran.

* * *

"Don't resist," Von said, very softly, as he and a group of armed guards led Seo through the halls of the mansion, towards the HR office. "The process doesn't hurt if you cooperate. If you resist…" He shuddered. "I've made that mistake, before."

"What process?" asked Seo, turning an inquiring eye on him.

"The acquisition."

Seo bit her lower lip.

Seemed being 'bought out' by Halstor involved more than signing a few documents and swearing a loyalty oath.

Seo stopped Von, a hand on his arm. Tried to look right into his eyes.

"Please," Seo said. "What's Halstor going to do to me?"

Von hesitated, a long moment. Then met her eyes with his. "I didn't come here to do this," Von said. "I came to Twirlfeen to investigate. For my sister. Find a way to stop him. But…" His eyes grew haunted. "It was Sally, see. Her father was sick. She couldn't pay for his medical bills. Too proud to ask my family to help. Thought… the press would think she was marrying me for the money."

"Sally," Seo repeated.

The pregnant one that Von would kill himself to protect.

"So Sally let Halstor buy her out," Von said. "Helped her father. And… when Halstor bought her out… I had no choice. That's how he does it! First, he acquires the people closest to you. Uses them as leverage. And soon… you're acquired, too."

The guards cleared their throats, pushing Seo and Von forwards.

"But what does 'being acquired' mean?" Seo pressed, getting closer and whispering to him. "What does Halstor do?"

"It's… an implant," Von confessed. His hand rested on the back of his neck. "Just… a… security measure, he says. Insurance. To make you do what he wants."

"Mind control."

"No, nothing like that," Von insisted. "More… emotional manipulation." He breathed, heavily. "The implant… allows Halstor to destroy you. He can destroy anyone he acquires with just the press of a button. Some people… he threatens _their_ lives. Others… well… he threatens someone else."

Sally.

Of course.

"So… if Halstor can shut anyone he acquires down with the press of a button," Seo clarified, "where are the buttons?" She shook her head, held out a hand. "No, wait. Don't tell me. They're here. In Twirlfeen. Aren't they?"

Von nodded.

And _that_ was why the spaceship crashing had been a fixed point in time. Why it was so vital to the pages of history.

A crash that would wipe out Halstor. And destroy his means of controlling the population across the entire Earth empire.

That was the space ship crash that Seo had prevented.

"You really mucked this up, didn't you, Seo?" she breathed, wincing. "Brilliant."

Von didn't seem to pick up what she'd said. Was too nervous. Too scared. Too horrified.

"Halstor… has power over everyone," said Von. "The politicians. The police. The army. The Slayers. Even my family." His eyes shifted down to the ground. "Even me. I'm how he found out about you."

Seo quirked an eyebrow.

"I… just… I didn't think you existed!" Von insisted. "My father told me, of course. Just as his father told him. And his father told him. But… there was no tangible evidence! No photographs. No video footage. Written accounts were… vague at best. I assumed you were a fairytale. When Halstor asked me for the legends, I didn't think there was any harm in telling him." Von ventured a terrified look up at her. "Please. Forgive me. I told him everything. I was thoughtless. I never imagined…"

"I don't understand," said Seo, shaking her head. "You _haven't_ met me, before?"

Von shook his head.

"So… how do you know me?" said Seo. "Why does everyone think there's some sort of connection between…?"

Von stared at her as if she were stupid. "Because of my family. I am Von Nathan Korjensky."

Oh.

Oh, it made sense, now!

Legends, passed down from parent to child. Someone who'd know about Seo, know what she could do. Would understand all her abilities. Keep her secrets. A family she'd swear to protect, throughout all of history.

"You're… Alison's descendent," said Seo. "Or… little David's."

Von clearly had no idea who 'Alison' was. Or why this particular connection was so significant to Seo. But he just nodded, anyways.

"The rest of my family is loyal," Von promised. "And if I live to raise him… I'll make sure my son is loyal, too. Don't judge us based on my mistake."

Seo didn't know what to say.

Just looked down at the carpet, her forehead bent in concentration.

"But if you don't know me from my own future," Seo muttered, "then… how does Halstor?!"

No one answered.

As she was escorted into the HR office.


	13. Chapter 13

Okay.

Good news: the aliens had basically stopped bombarding the planet below, lost all interest in their half-hearted invasion, and were now completely devoted to a new cause.

Bad news: that cause was trying to kill Buffy.

"Good going, me," Buffy muttered, as she darted through the alien space ship, trying to get back to the hovercar. She skidded across the ground, flipped through the air, even punched out and kicked at the aliens — to avoid being shot.

She actually winced every time she had to hit one of them.

Offered a little, "Sorry," as she raced off, leaving them winded and felled behind her.

Because these aliens weren't acting like hostile aggressors. No, these guys were super on the terrified factor. They couldn't even shoot straight, because their hands kept shaking around their guns.

Seriously, what the hell was going on?

As Buffy finally managed to find her way back to the area where she'd landed (err… smashed down) the hovercar, she noticed one last terrified alien, armed with a gun, its hands shaking so badly that its shots kept going wide and smashing equipment all around Buffy.

Okay.

New strategy.

Buffy lunged forwards, tackling the terrified alien and yanking the gun out of his hands. He shrieked, as Buffy grabbed him up and shoved him into the hovercar.

Hostage?

Or useful source of information?

Buffy slammed the doors to the hovercar shut, and began randomly punching at friendly-looking buttons, hoping one of them would make the car actually go. Sure enough, the car hummed into life, and she managed to burst her way through the window she'd smashed through, earlier.

The alien space ships, completely giving up their invasion, slowly turned their weaponry on her little car. And fired.

Buffy swerved the hovercar through the air, using every evasive driving maneuver she'd learned since first working at Torchwood. And a few she'd learned from what had wound up being one of the most useful driving lessons she'd ever gotten — from the Doctor — back when she'd been a teenager.

Her passenger had plastered himself into the seat, his eyes shut. Whimpering.

A bolt of an energy beam winged the hovercar, and it skittered out of Buffy's control, surging towards the ground. She grabbed up the alien nearby her, kicked open the door, and… when the car got close enough to the ground… leapt out of it, rolling against the pavement.

The car exploded, not far off.

Buffy turned to the alien she'd just rescued. He looked up at her through terrified eyes.

"Okay," Buffy said. "Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

* * *

Xilgro waved the armed escort away, the moment Seo and Von showed up. Muttering something about never liking guns in his office — messy and dangerous, he said.

Lucky break for Seo, that one.

"Standard procedure, then?" Xilgro asked, officiously, eyeing Seo up and down. "Normal acquisition and new hire?"

Von opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He'd somehow managed to position himself directly in between Seo and Xilgro.

Seo was still trying to think up a plan.

She didn't think the implant would work on her. Machines usually didn't. But she wasn't exactly keen to try it out.

Xilgro waited for Von to step out of the way. When Von didn't, Xilgro just shot him an amused look.

"Still standing up for your family's Guardian Angel?" asked Xilgro. His voice lowered, threateningly. "You know what Halstor will do about that little bit of defiance. To… _Sally_."

Okay, forget plans.

Time to do what Mom called "acting on instincts." What her father called "making it up as you go along". What Jack called "pulling a miracle out of your ass."

(Although… every single time Jack had said this, he always looked right at Ianto, and winked. Seo never understood why.)

Seo stepped out from behind Von. Trying to hide her terror and worry behind a confident smile.

"I'm ready," Seo said, in a perky voice. She opened her arms wide, invitingly. "So… go on! Acquire me!"

Xilgro advanced on her, device in hand, officiousness about him. "This won't hurt a bit," he told her, as he reached out his arm to point the device squarely in her face.

Seo grabbed up his arm, twisting the device out of his hand as she threw him over her shoulder, and slammed him down on the ground. Then hurled the device to the ground, so that it smashed into a thousand pieces.

"What… what…?" Xilgro spluttered.

But she didn't have time to offer explanations. She launched herself at the nearest computer terminal, cut off all the cameras. Then grabbed Von by the hand, and yanked him along with her, out the back door, and away from HR.

Only a matter of time before someone noticed, they were hunted down by more guards with guns.

But that was fine.

Because Seo was thinking fast.

"Man in a blue box," she muttered, recalling what Halstor had said. Then smiled, a little. "And he'd know that point in time was fixed."

"What?" said Von.

Seo glanced over her shoulder, at Von. "Any place you can think of that Halstor guards more than everywhere else? Somewhere no one's allowed except a few engineers?"

"Sector 7G," said Von.

Seo did a double-take. "7G? You mean where Homer Simpson works?"

Von clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

Seo sighed. "I've hung out around Alison way too much," she admitted. Then winked back at Von. "Come on! I've just thought up a plan."

* * *

Halstor hadn't been worried. For the first time in a long while, everything was truly under his control.

"Even the last Sompters' heir is within my grasp," Halstor muttered, staring at the now-empty holo-screen. "Or dead." He put his hands up behind his head. "All the loose ends are being wrapped up."

Better still, Trandon had come back in, a short time ago, with results from Halstor's enquiry about the 'man in the blue box'.

A former UNIT advisor, from centuries ago. A time traveler, who liked to wander around the universe and poke his nose into places it didn't belong.

"And he has the audacity to cross _me_ ," Halstor said. Shook his head. "Well, 'Doctor' whatever your name is… you don't cross Eron Halstor VII! Oh, no! Farox Sompters did it, that Seo did it, and just look at what's happened to the both of…!"

The doors to his office burst open.

And in marched a highly self-confident-looking Seo. Alone. Her blond hair bouncing with every step, as she approached him.

"Hello, again!" she said, with a grin, waving at him. "Miss me?"

Halstor blinked. She wasn't chipped. Wasn't acquired. He could tell. How could she…? He stopped, composed himself. Pressing the secret security button beneath his desk. "You… escaped."

"Bit easy as escapes went!" Seo replied, beaming. "Knocked out everyone guarding me, and ran away. Brilliant strategy." She marched over to his desk. Bent down, to stare right into his eyes. "Now. Think it's _your_ turn to do what _I_ say." She leaned down, lower. Her voice turning into a dark growl. "Stop your business. Stop acquiring people. And get rid of every single control switch in your basement. Or else."

"Or else what?" Halstor challenged. "You're unarmed."

A group of armed soldiers, at that very moment, swarmed through the open door, all aiming loaded guns at Seo.

Seo stepped back. Wide brown eyes fixed on the guns, her breath growing a little more uneasy. But she held her ground.

"There's a bomb," Seo informed Halstor. "On a timer, in your basement. Right in the center of that room where you store the equipment you're using to control those implants and murder people. A bomb big enough to destroy the entire city of Twirlfeen." Her stare was unfathomably dark. Her voice unfathomably menacing. "So get rid of those relays. Or Twirlfeen gets destroyed."

Halstor's anger rose in his throat. "What?!"

"I'm the only one who can deactivate that bomb," said Seo. "And I won't. Unless you do what I say." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Choose fast, Mr. Halstor. Because every second you delay, this mansion and the entire city surrounding it might go up in smoke. Along with your equipment."

Halstor stared at her. Then shook his head. "A bluff," he decided. "You'd never do it. You'd never kill yourself. Or that Korjensky family of yours. Or the one you call 'Mom'." He laughed. "And you'd certainly never kill an entire city of innocents."

"I will if I have to!" Seo shouted.

The room fell silent.

"Twirlfeen was supposed to be destroyed by a crashing spaceship, yesterday," said Seo. "That's what history said. That's what time dictated should happen. But I changed it, and that… was wrong." Her eyes narrowed. "This isn't murder, Mr. Halstor. This bomb is just me fixing my mistakes."

Halstor paused, a moment. Calling up the surveillance footage, and seeing the bomb sitting there, in the middle of the room. Halstor got up from his desk, nodding. "All right, then."

The girl seemed relieved. Clearly believing she'd gotten away with it.

He activated his wrist-communicator. "Valerie?" he called. "Dispatch a bomb squad into Sector 7G. And ready my secondary space ship."

He heard the affirmation.

"Your bomb squad can try all they like," said Seo. "Even your best scientists will never be able to disarm my bomb in time."

"Not a problem, if I'm not in Twirlfeen," said Halstor.

"Your equipment would be destroyed," Seo pointed out. "You could flee, but all your power over people would be gone."

Halstor grinned. Analyzing the life-sign scanners projected onto the far wall of his office. Seeing the group that must be the bomb-squad running into Sector 7G, automatically triggering the defense mechanism he'd installed into the workings of that particular room.

The moment anyone but his personal engineers entered Sector 7G, an unbreakable casing enclosed the machinery. Just to make sure no one tampered where they shouldn't.

He brought up the footage for Seo to see. The encasement sliding around the machinery.

"That shielding will stand up to any bomb, of any size," Halstor said. "And, long as that team's in the room, it'll stay in place." Halstor slid his thumb along the side of his desk, and a series of controls emerged from the desk's inner workings. "So. Just to make sure that team stays there…" Halstor slammed his fist down on the button, and the entire building shuddered around them.

Seo stared at Halstor. "What…?"

"Sector 7G has been entirely sealed off," said Halstor.

He silenced the radio alerts from the freaked out bomb squad dispersal team, who'd just realized that they'd become his sacrificial lambs. He was ruthless and determined, yes, but that didn't mean he enjoyed listening to people die.

"Your gambit has failed," said Halstor. "You've condemned a city, condemned the one person you swore to protect, and all you've accomplished by it was killing the innocents. I'll survive. My power will survive." His eyes sparkled with a hint of greed. "And you'll survive, of course. I said I wanted your secrets. And I'm planning to get them. In payment for what _you_ stole from _me_."

Whatever connection she had to that man in the blue box, Halstor wasn't letting that slip through his fingers.

The perfect payment plan.

That was when he noticed that the soldiers were all looking a little distracted. Staring at the footage of Sector 7G.

Halstor turned.

The bomb hadn't exploded. No. It must have been a gas bomb, because there was now a visible gas released into the air. Swarming, more and more, over time. A gas so thick, it clouded up all the cameras, encompassed the bomb squad in an instant.

Halstor smacked down the full lock-down controls for Sector 7G. No air vents. No way for anything in that room to seep into the outside world.

"That's just phase one," Seo told him. "Phase two is the part with the bang."

"Then I suppose we'd better get going," snarled Halstor. Gestured at the guards to accompany him, lead Seo forwards. And activated his wrist-communicator. "Valerie. Everything all set for take-off?"

A second of silence.

Then a rather breathless voice came in from the other end. "Mr. Halstor, sir? Your secondary space ship. It appears to be… well… missing."

"Missing?!" Halstor shouted.

Seo gave a small, smug grin. "You didn't think I'd let Von and Sally Korjensky stick around here to go up in flames with all the others, did you?" Her voice lowered, and she added, "Sally. The pregnant woman you've been threatening."

Halstor spun on her. Feeling his utter and complete hatred well up inside of him. "If I'm going to die," he hissed, "and you're going to die… then I'll make sure your friends die, too."

He accessed the mobile controls he had, which could isolate and activate any implant he wanted. "Von and Sally Korjensky," he said, selecting them. Then paused. Smiled. "No. On second thought… why don't we eliminate all the Korjenskys?" He selected more and more from his list. "Your favorite family. Wiped out. Ended. Just like I ended the Sompters line."

And if that man in the blue box ever came back… that'd be _his_ nice little welcome present. No more Sompters. Ever again.

(Not even the lost Sompters heir. Not even that last Sompters, whom this 'Seo' was reported to have rescued and stolen from under Halstor's grasp. No, even that Sompters would be dead, once the Teptors were done with her.)

Halstor turned back to Seo, a sneer on his face.

A sneer that fell away, as he realized… she was beaming.

"You're a bit thick, aren't you?" Seo asked him.

Halstor's eyes blazed. "I've just wiped out your favorite family," he snapped. "Sentenced this planet to complete destruction. Ensured the death of the heir you stole from—"

"I noticed you turned off the sound to Sector 7G," Seo said. Quirked an eyebrow at him. "Want to have a listen-in at what that bomb squad are actually saying?"

Halstor visibly hesitated, now. "But… but they're dead," he said. "The gas—"

"Came from inside the sealed-off machinery," said Seo. "The supposed 'bomb' you saw, outside the machinery section, was a dud." Her eyes twinkled, as she bounced on her toes. "I can't believe you didn't notice that."

"What?" shouted Halstor.

"Machines don't pick me up," said Seo. "So… even though, normally, moment anyone walks into that room, that equipment gets sealed off… when _I_ walked in, it didn't." She shrugged. "I saw your little safeguards and security software. I could have bypassed them all, yes. But… this way was far simpler."

"You released toxic gas into a place that contained only a machine?" Halstor laughed. "Why would you—?"

"It's not gas," said Seo.

Every single one of the soldiers, now, was lowering their guns. Eyes still fixed to the projection of Sector 7G, as the dense cloud disappeared, and they could see the beads of sweat pouring down the bomb squad's faces.

"It's steam," said Seo. "Hot air." She stepped forward. "And you sealed off all the air vents."

Halstor suddenly began to get uneasy.

A machine that needed vents in order to ensure it didn't overheat… and he'd just…

No!

He lunged for the controls on his desk, monitoring his equipment. Sure enough, it had overheated. Gone into standby. A while ago. Possibly before he'd ever sent that transmission to kill all the Korjenskys.

"See, this… man with the blue box you're obsessed with," Seo continued, "I know him. I know the one thing he'd never do is allow there to be some chance of that machine surviving after the space ship impact. Blast shielding or no. So I figured… he'd have made sure that the moment it detected enough heat and pressure, the whole system would shut down, completely. Permanently."

The machinery, on the screen, suddenly seared with an intense white light, and then seemed to melt to the ground. For no explicable reason.

"Pressure and heat," said Seo. "That I just provided. Courtesy of my steam-bomb."

The soldiers all turned their guns on Halstor.

This time… it was Halstor who held up his hands in surrender. Backing away, carefully, his eyes fixed on the soldiers surrounding him.

"You've threatened all of their families," said Seo. Her eyes hard. "All of their friends." She leaned in, and whispered, "I think they're going to be a bit upset about that — don't you?"

"You… can't prove anything!" Halstor spat at them. He'd been careful about that one. "There's no evidence I was behind any of those deaths. The implants injections were done for _your_ benefit! They were scientifically proven to prolong life. Cure infinite diseases! You've all seen the reports."

" _Would_ have prolonged life," said one of them, angrily, "if you hadn't used them to murder our families."

"The best lawyers in the galaxy might think otherwise," Halstor insisted. "I've still got enough money to get off any charge!" He laughed. "Face it. You can't get away with anything."

" _They_ can't," said a woman's voice, as the doors to Halstor's office burst open, yet again. "But _I_ can."

A crowd of very strong, very flexible young women all rushed into the office. Surrounding and tackling Halstor to the ground, snapping handcuffs around his wrists and then twisting him around to face their leader.

A tall woman, who looked strikingly like Von, except with dark hair.

President of the Slayer Institute.

"Your Teptor friends, as it turned out, never did trust you," said the President. "Your rooms were being bugged. Your implant transmissions being monitored. When they came to get us, we gained all the evidence we needed against you."

"What?" Halstor cried. "Went and got you?! Those sniveling little cowards?! They're terrified of the Slayers! Why would they think they'd be safe going and getting…?!"

The Slayers all parted. To reveal Buffy Summers leaning against the back wall. Arms crossed. Looking completely nonchalant.

"Easy," said Buffy, with a shrug. "I guaranteed them immunity."

"You," said Halstor.

"Me," Buffy agreed. "The founder of the Slayer Institution, over a thousand years ago. Buff…" She stopped. Grimaced. "Bunfy Sompters."

Seo fought to stifle a hysterical laugh, and Buffy shot her a pointed glare.

"You're coming back to the Korjensky Star System with us, Mr. Halstor," said the President. "Where you'll stand trial for your crimes against humanity, humanity's allies, and the Slayer Institution, in particular. And _our_ tribunals won't find you innocent."

Halstor struggled, as the Slayers lead him out the door. "This isn't over!" he shouted back at Seo. "I swear, I'll make sure this is the last time you ever dare to cross Eron Halstor VII, Seo!"

The President of the Slayer Institution sighed.

"Don't worry about him," she told Seo. "He's clearly never seen the fury of a group of Slayers who've just uncovered the self-confessed ender of the Sompters family line." She shook her head, following the others out the door. "Not pretty."

* * *

There was a celebration, on Twirlfeen. Honoring Seo, the hero who'd rid them of Halstor's oppression.

Buffy didn't feel so much like celebrating. Like it or not, she'd just seen the end of her family. The point in history when the Sompters family died out.

So she slipped off. To take a breather. Clear her head. She wandered, by herself, through the city of Twirlfeen.

About ten minutes in, Buffy noticed the friendly-looking blue police box that had just randomly appeared, nestled away in a corner of a side street.

And a very familiar pinstripe-suited figure, leaning against its side.

"Well," said the Doctor, leaning against his ship. "City of Twirlfeen. Still here. Fancy that."

Oh.

Damn.

"Twirlfeen aside, Halstor's gone," said Buffy. "And so's his machinery. Everyone's free and stuff turned out all right."

The Doctor didn't answer.

Buffy sighed, slouching in place. "Okay, I know," she said. "During these test things, Seo made some mistakes."

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "That what you're calling the bloodbath in London, 1860?"

"But she's learning," Buffy cut in, quickly. "I mean, nobody's perfect, right?"

The Doctor didn't answer.

"When I first became the Slayer," Buffy continued, "I was all with the screw-ups. I missed the heart, let vampires get away, forgot to check in with my Slayer senses when I was racing to defend people. I screwed up so much that — this one time, on patrol, I ran into a well-meaning, totally altruistic Time Lord who wanted to save the world — and wound up almost killing him."

The Doctor gave a small grin at this one. Looked down at the ground.

"And… and… you didn't just give up on me, then, right?" Buffy said. "Even after I shot you, handed you over to the Watchers' Council, and accidentally let Omega into our universe — you didn't just be all, 'Okay, Buffy, you're not allowed to be the Slayer, anymore.' No! You gave me another chance. And I learned."

"Suppose I did," said the Doctor. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "But… well. Failing to correctly identify vampires is a bit different from accidentally using your time machine to nearly shred apart the universe." He nodded at Buffy. "I gave Seo three chances. And she failed two of them."

"She only failed one and a half!" Buffy insisted.

The Doctor didn't answer.

"The Drusilla thing — okay, I'll give you that, she failed that one big time," Buffy admitted. "Total refusal to cave, even when she _knew_ she shouldn't be changing the future. But… even then… she did it for the right reasons. She didn't want an innocent person to be tortured to death."

The Doctor remained silent. But some of the hardness was already falling away from him.

"And then, in Colonial America, she learned from the Drusilla thing, and didn't kill the Master," Buffy said. "Point to Seo."

"Point to Seo," the Doctor agreed. He gestured at the city around them. "And Twirlfeen? What does that say about her learning her lesson?"

Basically… it said that Seo needed to do her Summer Reading.

"That Seo fixes her mistakes," Buffy replied. "She messed up. She admitted that. And, yeah, she was tempted to just run away and pretend it hadn't happened. But she didn't. She stayed behind, did the nitty-gritty stuff, and solved the problem. All by herself." Buffy gave the Doctor a soft smile. "And… I dare you to show up somewhere that you know a whole city would be destroyed and not try to save at least one person."

The Doctor tried to remain stern. But Buffy could tell. He was hesitating.

"Seo makes mistakes," said Buffy, "but it's all in the name of helping people." She crossed her arms. "Can you really fault her for that?"

The Doctor said nothing for a long moment.

Then sighed, stood up straight.

"All right," the Doctor said. Threw his hands into the air. "All right! You win. She passes the tests." He advanced on Buffy, waggling a finger at her. "But she travels with supervision, for a while. You got that? She only _just_ squeaked by."

Buffy looked away, trying to stifle a laugh.

"So, you're saying," Buffy said, "that Seo, like someone else I could name, _also_ passed her Time Lord test with 51%?"

The Doctor blinked. "What? No, it wasn't…! That test on Gallifrey was totally different from…!" He waved his hands, clearly flustered. "Oh, stop that!"

Buffy beamed.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. Then his eyes lit up, and he grinned, pulling an envelope out from his trench coat. "Nearly forgot!" He handed it to Buffy. "Wedding invitation. Ria Hiskaloph. Lovely lady. Good to see she's doing well." He winked at Buffy. "Thought I might as well drop the invitation off, here, so you two could come the short route."

Buffy took the invitation from the Doctor. Staring at it. Then back up at him.

"Okay, what's really going on?" Buffy asked. Waving the invitation in the air. "You never do stuff like this."

The Doctor just gave a little shrug. "Might want to avoid going home for a bit. Or, at least, anywhere near Cardiff." Then he turned around, headed back into his ship. But stopped in the doorway, and spun around.

"Oh, and by the way," the Doctor told Buffy. "Halstor was right. One member of your family survived."

Then he closed the door.

And dematerialized.


End file.
